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NATO Urges Macedonian Restraint
BUDAPEST, May 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - NATO Secretary General George Robertson on Tuesday urged Macedonia to show restraint in its battle with Albanian fighters.
His comments came as security forces said the conflict had entered a decisive phase.
Both NATO and the European Union have supported Macedonia in its battle with the National Liberation Army (NLA).
But Robertson said Macedonia must also respect the concerns of its Muslim Albanian minority, news agencies reported.
Robertson told NATO foreign ministers in the Hungarian capital, Budapest on Tuesday, "We ask the government in Skopje to exercise firmness with restraint, but flexibility with their politics in order that a solution can be found to this troubled situation."
He added, referring to the Balkans in general: "There is still too much hatred and revenge and still too much readiness by some to resort to force and violence in pursuit of the nationalistic illusion."
He spoke as EU foreign policy representative, Javier Solana, briefed NATO following talks with political leaders in Macedonia.
Meanwhile, fresh fighting erupted in Macedonia on Tuesday as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana jetted back to Skopje for the second day running to try and kick-start talks on resolving the crisis.
Macedonian Army spokesman Colonel Blagojo Markovski said fighting had broken out in the village of Matejce, which is partially controlled by Albanian fighters and has been the scene of fierce clashes over the past three days.
Government forces were attempting to evacuate 700 civilians from Matejce and two neighboring villages, he said.
Albanian rebels infiltrated the village on Saturday, breaking out from their strongholds in hills north of Skopje, AFP reported.
Solana was due back in Skopje after failing Monday to break a deadlock in political negotiations between leaders of Macedonia's Slav majority and parties representing Muslim Albanians.
The new visit was aimed at persuading them to resume dialogue "as soon as possible," said Cristia Gallach, Solana's spokeswoman.
Solana, speaking before flying back to Skopje, said he would be pressing Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski to spearhead attempts to mediate between the ethnic communities.
"We would like ... to see the president taking the lead in the inter-ethnic dialogue that has to be done rapidly," he told a small group of reporters. "The time that is left is not very long."
The country's national unity cabinet has been deadlocked since last week, when Albanian leaders signed a peace deal with the rebels.
Macedonia's Slavic leaders insist that the Albanian politicians must renounce the deal before cooperation can resume, refusing to negotiate with the rebels, who they say are "terrorists".
The latest reports from northern Macedonia speak of continued fighting around rebel-held strongholds.
Government troops are said to have entered one of the villages, Matejce, but were meeting resistance from the insurgents.
Matejce, along with Vaksince and Slupcane, have been severely damaged by artillery and helicopter attacks.
Some civilians have been hiding in basement shelters for up to three weeks, and thousands are still pinned down in rebel strongholds like Slupcane and Lipkovo.
"We are entering a delicate, key phase in our action" to drive out the rebels, a senior police official told news agencies Tuesday.
"The next 48 hours will be decisive."
The clashes in northern Macedonia first began in February and flared with renewed intensity nearly a month ago, endangering thousands of civilians trapped in fighting between the two sides in villages.
The U.N. refugee agency estimated on Monday that 9,500 people had fled to neighboring Kosovo to escape the fighting since it began.
An additional 2,500 others had fled to other parts of Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia.
The Red Cross says they have been unable to reach thousands of civilians trapped by the fighting.
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