U.S. Backs Macedonia Against Albanians - To A Point
WASHINGTON, May 7 (News Agencies) - The United States expressed Monday its support for Macedonia's stepped-up fight against Muslim Albanian rebels but warned Skopje against the drastic step of declaring a state of war.
U.S. President George W. Bush "supports the efforts of the government of Macedonia to fight the extremists who have brought the violence to the region," spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
The U.S. president last week welcomed Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski to the White House and "made clear ... that he believed that the ultimate solution would be a political solution," said Fleischer.
Bush remains "very concerned" about an Albanian rebellion and "wants to make certain that Macedonia is able to take the action they need to combat a problem that has been created by the extremists," Fleischer said.
Those comments came shortly after Macedonian army tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships stepped up a bombardment of Albanian positions in hills just 25 kilometers (18 miles) north of Skopje.
At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington was pleased that a Macedonian parliament session in which deputies had been expected to discuss the introduction of a state of war had been delayed so Trajkovski could talk with party leaders under European Union mediation.
"We understand the government of Macedonia is under pressure because of the continued resort to violence by the extremists and then we condemn this violence, we condemn in the strongest terms the unprovoked acts of terrorist violence taken by the so-called National Liberation Army," Boucher said.
"The focus, we believe, should be on pressing forward with the political tracks, even as the government carries out its obligation ... to re-establish a security situation."
Marathon talks between Macedonian and ethnic Albanian party leaders with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana broke up for the night late Monday without resolution, sources in Skopje said.
In New York, Human Rights Watch called on both sides in the conflict to protect civilians.
"The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia also applies to Macedonia," said Holly Cartner, executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch. "This should make those fighting in Macedonia think carefully about the manner in which they conduct operations in the ongoing conflict."
