Doubts expressed on Macedonia peace accord

By Brian Murphy, Associated Press, 9/12/2001

KOPJE, Macedonia - About a third of the rifles and other field weapons so far surrendered by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia do not work and may not have been used in recent fighting, military sources said yesterday.

Such a tally would raise questions about the rebels' commitment to disarm and bolster objections from Macedonians who say the peace accord will not cripple the insurgents' ability to fight.

NATO spokesman Barry Johnson confirmed some of the rebel weapons were ''non-operational.'' But he set a lower figure: about 5 percent beyond ordinary repair and between 15 and 20 percent needing some work to return to service.

The military sources - from a NATO nation involved in the weapons collection - said as many as 35 to 40 percent of the semiautomatic rifles, machine guns, and smaller arms were ''out of operation.''

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 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 make up about a third of the nation's 2 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 said the rebels could have up to 60,000 weapons, including guns, mortars, and other rockets.

The Balkans became flooded with weapons in 1997 when Albanian military bases and police stations were looted in nationwide unrest after the collapse of phony investment schemes.

NATO is near the midway point in its weapons collection mission, which is scheduled to resume today. 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 an officer.

This story ran on page A24 of the Boston Globe on 9/12/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.