[ALBSA-Info] Athens denounces Albanian 'extremists'

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Athens denounces Albanian 'extremists'

Kathimerini

Greece denounced new attacks yesterday by armed Albanian rebels against 
government forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. "We condemn 
these extremist acts," Foreign Minister George Papandreou said. 

Speaking in Parliament, Papandreou said: "We are certain to come up against a 
section of the Albanian population that has irredentist and expansionist 
tendencies, which is why it is absolutely imperative for us to support the 
more moderate forces both in Albania and in Kosovo."

Defense Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos, following a meeting with German MPs in 
Berlin, told journalists that "these developments and this crisis should have 
been foreseen."

Tsochadzopoulos praised Albania's approach to the crisis as "constructive," 
but added that "the Albanian government must make it clear that it does not 
sanction these developments."

The Associated Press reported that Greece sent further military aid yesterday 
to Skopje, including five military trucks, radios, medical supplies and 
bulletproof vests.

Athens has pledged to use all means to protect the territorial integrity of 
its tiny northern neighbor.

Albanian rebels attacked a convoy of government officials in the northern 
FYROM town of Breast that was touring the area to assure local residents that 
Skopje was in control of the situation. 

Some of the attackers are believed to have been part of a group that recently 
evacuated the northern village of Tanusevci, as well as reinforcements from 
within Kosovo.

In southern Serbia, insurgents using mortars and automatic weapons attacked 
Yugoslav police in Lucane, located in the Presevo Valley, killing one 
policeman and wounding three, Serbian authorities said.