[ALBSA-Info] New York Times

[Agron Alibali]

The New York Times 


March 13, 2001, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final 

Section A; Page 18; Column 1; Editorial Desk 

The Danger in Kosovo 


Two years ago this month, Slobodan Milosevic's
murderous campaign against ethnic Albanians first
brought NATO involvement in Kosovo. Now, in an ironic
turnabout, armed Albanian fighters are emerging as the
greatest potential source of Balkan instability. For
months, Albanian guerrillas have exploited a
three-mile-wide buffer strip just inside Serbia's
border to stage attacks on Serbian police and
civilians. Last week Albanian irregulars extended
their operations to nearby Macedonia. 

The Albanian fighters responsible for the recent
violence number only a few thousand out of the more
than two million ethnic Albanians living in the
immediate area. The West must make clear to this
militant fringe that they will not be allowed to set
off another Balkan war. Continued fighting could
destabilize Macedonia, where a large Albanian minority
uneasily shares power with the Slavic majority. It
could also undermine Serbia's promising experiment in
post-Milosevic democracy. 

In an effort to improve security along the Serbian
border, NATO yesterday agreed to let Yugoslav troops
re-enter a small portion of the buffer zone. NATO also
won agreement from Albanian guerrillas to a one-week
cease-fire in the area. Regrettably, that did not stop
one guerrilla chief from warning that he could not
guarantee that arriving Yugoslav soldiers would be
safe from "spontaneous" attacks by local Albanians.
NATO should treat any such outbursts as evidence of
bad faith by the guerrillas inviting a stern response
on the Kosovo side of the border. 

For now, Yugoslav troops will enter only the southern
corner of the buffer zone, where the borders of
Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia meet. If they respect the
agreed ground rules, which include prohibitions on
occupying houses, entering villages and using certain
heavy weapons, they may later be permitted to move
about other areas of the zone. Before that can happen,
the new Serb government must earn back the trust of
the ethnic Albanian civilians in the area, who were
badly mistreated in the Milosevic era. 

A military crackdown against the Albanian fighters on
the Macedonia border will be simpler, since no buffer
zone exists there. Washington was right last week to
let American forces based in Kosovo coordinate their
actions with Macedonian troops on the other side of
the border to repel an incursion by Albanian
guerrillas. Macedonia itself must summon the political
and military strength needed to blunt this challenge.
In an encouraging sign, political leaders of
Macedonia's ethnic Albanian community disavowed the
guerrilla action. 

Responsible Albanian political leaders in Kosovo must
now be equally forthright in isolating the armed
militants and urging their fellow citizens to do the
same. If they cannot do so effectively, NATO may have
to increase its military pressure on the guerrillas.  



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
http://auctions.yahoo.com/