Posted on 09/12/2001 9:44:32 AM PDT by oxi-nato
SKOPJE (AP) - Legislators in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) moved toward a possible political showdown yesterday that could further complicate the Western-brokered peace process. Parliament was to continue a debate on the fate of Justice Minister Ixhet Memeti, an ethnic Albanian, who Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has asked to be removed.
Georgievski has accused Memeti of failing to arrange the extradition from Germany of ethnic Albanian Sami Habibi, a suspect in a January attack on a police station in north western FYROM that killed one officer. But Memeti, a member of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity, threatened his party will leave both the government and Parliament if he is removed.
The controversy could create serious problems in FYROM's fragile coalition government, which includes all of the country's prominent political parties. The broad-based government was created in May to help the country's Slav-Macedonians and minority ethnic Albanians avoid all-out war. The political wrangle could also have repercussions in Parliament, where deputies are preparing to debate constitutional changes granting ethnic Albanians greater rights. But even if the latest political difficulties are overcome, the cumbersome process to adopt the rights reforms may clash with the September 26 deadline set by NATO to collect 3,300 rebel weapons.
Security vacuum FYROM media reported that parliamentary debate on the changes may not begin until early October, raising questions about whether NATO can begin the final arm-collection phase before lawmakers enact the reforms. Western leaders, meanwhile, wrestle over what to do after NATO's departure.
In Naples, Italy, NATO's top military official said on Monday he did not believe a European Union rapid reaction force was sufficiently developed to be deployed in FYROM by the end of September. The EU has proposed a multinational force comprising both NATO members and others outside the alliance, such as Russia and Ukraine.
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