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Macedonia president rejects talks


A funeral procession for Bosko Najdovski, killed by ethnic Albanian rebels

WASHINGTON -- Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski has rejected talks with ethnic Albanian rebels who killed eight of his security troops over the weekend.

He made the announcement after a meeting in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who expressed U.S. "solidarity" with Macedonia.

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The meeting took place as riots erupted on the streets of Bitola, Macedonia's third largest city that is situated 170 kilometres southwest of capital Skopje.

Crowds of mostly young people set fires and destroyed cafes and shops owned by ethnic Albanians. Four people were admitted to hospital, one of them allegedly a rioter who was shot by a store owner.

The rioting came after the funerals of the eight Macedonian soldiers and policemen who were killed at the weekend.

Trajkovski said he had asked the U.S. Secretary of State to formally list as a terrorist organisation the rebel group calling itself the National Liberation Army.

The move would make fund-raising for the NLA illegal in the United States and could stop their representatives getting U.S. visas.

"They have to be formally designated," he said in response to a question at a gathering at the U.S. Institute for Peace think tank in Washington.

Trajkovski was asked to respond to a letter signed by NLA political leader Ali Ahmeti released to news organisations in Albania, in which Ahmeti said his group did not intend to destroy the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Ahmeti said in the letter, dated before the deadly attack on the soldiers, that the NLA wanted talks mediated by Western leaders with the Macedonian government.

But Trajkovski said: "We have never have been in a position to discuss or to have any kinds of talks with terrorists, and we're not planning to in the future."


Macedonian police carry the coffin of 25 year-old Kire Kostadinovski

He accused the rebels of mutilating the bodies of the soldiers, who Ahmeti said had been killed in self-defence.

A senior Macedonian official said Trajkovski told Powell he remained committed to a political dialogue with ethnic Albanians in his country, but the recent rash of violence "made it more difficult" to achieve a reconciliation.

Trajkovski said his country's "combination of power and restraint" has been able to keep the rebels at bay and stopped them from taking control over any part of the country. He said he would continue to fight against the rebels attempt to fight for territory.

Powell said he discussed with Trajkovski the possibility of enhanced U.S. financial and security support for Macedonia in fighting the extremists.

But Powell continued to press the president on steps he was taking to deal with the concerns of ethnic Albanians and told him to continue "moving aggressively" to seek political reconciliation "in all forms," including possible constitutional amendments at some point in the future.

"We must not allow terrorists to derail political reconciliation," Powell told the president.

After his meeting with Powell ,Trajkovski said he invited "all political parties" into a dialogue.

"My vision is to create a society which will be based on the individuals, not on the ethnic groups, on the citizens, not on the ethnic groups," he said.