World leaders condemn Macedonia violence

Ethnic Albanian rebels early Saturday remained holed up in hills near the northern Macedonian city of Tetovo, from where they have harassed Macedonian security forces. People living near the border with Kosovo have been asked to leave their homes, to deprive the guerrillas of potential hostages and to lessen civilian casualties during a possible offensive. The rebels are believed to have crossed from, or received support from, Kosovo - the mostly ethnic Albanian enclave of neighbouring Yugoslavia that is controlled by a NATO peacekeeping force - although leaders there on Friday distanced themselves from the insurgents.

Also on Friday, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, speaking after a White House visit, said "one has to take steps to bring the rebellion and violence to an end, but we must do it in a manner that doesn't create bigger problems", including a refugee crisis. The refugee agency UNHCR said it believes at least 15,000 residents of the northwestern city of Tetovo have already been displaced by the fighting. U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday said in a statement: "The insurgents in Macedonia claim to be advancing the cause of the Albanian minority. They are not. "The United States and its allies have a long-standing commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Macedonia." The United States was providing surveillance information from unmanned surveillance planes, or drones, to Macedonia, and "KFOR patrols have been increased along Kosovo's border with Macedonia in order to improve border security and curtail the insurgents' activities", the statement said. E.U. leaders meeting in Stockholm also promised to stand by the Macedonian government in its struggle against the insurgents but on Friday told visiting President Boris Trajkovski to show restraint in dealing with the rebels. "The E.U. expresses strong support for democratic and multi-ethnic Macedonia," said Swedish Prime Minister and summit host Goeran Persson. "Extremism has no place in 21st Century Europe."

But Persson said the E.U. wanted Skopje to respond in a "restrained and proportionate manner" to the insurgents. Trajkovski ruled out peace talks with the "terrorists," saying his government was determined to ensure their "military and political isolation". Russian President Vladimir Putin, also at the Stockholm summit, likened the conflict to Moscow's campaign in Chechnya and said "those attacking Macedonia are not rebels - they are terrorists". He said the international community had failed to carry out its decision to disarm the Kosovo Liberation Army - now widely believed to be aiding the insurgents - after NATO's 1999 war with Yugoslavia and occupation of Kosovo. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has urged Macedonia to ease living conditions of its ethnic Albanian minority as a way to defuse the conflict, including changing the constitution and allowing Albanian-language instruction in schools. He also urged the Macedonian government to avoid using excessive force against the rebels. "We think there is a way to deal with this that would not cause yet another Balkan war," he said.

(sda)