Posted on 09/12/2001 4:56:35 AM PDT by oxi-nato
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — About one-third of the rifles and other field weapons surrendered thus far by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia do not work and may not have been used in recent fighting, military sources said Tuesday. Such a tally would raise questions about the rebels' commitment to disarm and bolster objections from Macedonians who claim the peace accord will fail to cripple the insurgents' ability to battle.
NATO spokesman Barry Johnson confirmed some of the rebel weapons were "non-operational." But he set the figure lower: about five per cent beyond ordinary repair and between 15 and 20 per cent needing some work to return to service. The military sources — from a NATO country involved in the weapons collection — said as many 40 per cent of the semi-automatic rifles, machine-guns and smaller arms were "out of operation."
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that many of the out-of-service weapons were missing parts and had other serious problems. It appeared many were not used since February, when ethnic Albanian rebels began their uprising for greater rights, according to the sources. The Western-brokered peace plan calls for rebel disarmament in exchange for greater political and language rights for ethnic Albanians, who comprise about one-third of the country's two million people. The extent of the rebels' arsenal — and its firepower — is unclear.
Under the peace pact, NATO agreed to collect 3,300 weapons by late September. Macedonian officials, however, have claimed the rebels could have up to 60,000 weapons, including guns, mortars and other rockets. The Balkans — always a crossroads for arms — became flooded with weapons in 1997 when Albanian military bases and police stations were looted in nationwide chaos after the collapse of phony investment schemes. NATO is near the midway point in its weapons collection mission, which is scheduled to resume Wednesday. Most of the arms surrendered so far have been assault rifles, such as AK-47s, and light machine guns, NATO said.
But NATO officials have warned that Macedonian paramilitary gangs could increase worries by ethnic Albanian rebels and hamper the success of the weapons collection. In Macedonia's parliament, meanwhile, another possible threat to the peace process involved debate over the fate of Justice Minister Ixhet Memeti, an ethnic Albanian.
His removal has been demanded by Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, who has accused Memeti of failing to arrange the extradition from Germany of an ethnic Albanian suspect in a January attack on a police station that killed one officer. Memeti's party has threatened to leave the government and parliament if he is removed, which could disrupt the peace process.
But it won't happen. They might lay low awhile but in order for us to do anything we'd have to completely turn over the bureaucracy that carries out our Balkans deeds.
Even a direct order at this point would not get the result it called for ... and that's a scary thought.
There's only one fact that counts: Kosovo is full of western potential hostages</strike out> personnel.
VRN
VRN
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