West under fire in Macedonia

President Bush greets U.S. troops in Kosovo

By CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley

LONDON, England -- NATO and European Union leaders are making frantic efforts to stop the worsening conflict in Macedonia developing into civil war and eventually into another long term peace-keeping commitment.

On his visit to Kosovo, U.S. President George W. Bush appealed to the Kosovan Albanians not to help stoke up the conflict.

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and Lord Robertson, the NATO Secretary General, are expected to hasten to Macedonia this week to buttress the efforts of James Pardew, the U.S. representative on the spot, and Francois Leotard, the EU’s envoy.

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Leotard has warned: “Macedonia is the last domino in the Yugoslav crisis. If it falls the wrong way, the other dominoes could follow.” Failure in Macedonia , he has warned, could call into question all that has been achieved in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Attempts at reaching a political settlement in Skopje between the Macedonian majority and the Albanians who make up about a third of the country and who are demanding constitutional changes such as equality for their language have all but foundered.

The latest cease-fire has given way to clashes in and around the second city of Tetovo between Macedonian army units and ethnic Albanian rebels. Ethnic violence and episodes of attempted ethnic cleansing are on the increase.

But what makes it worse for the outside forces trying to restore calm is that trust seems to have broken down.

Some Macedonian officials and Macedonian Slav media are accusing NATO and the EU of acting in concert with the Albanian rebels of the NLA (National Liberation Army), allowing them to advance during the cease-fire period.

Both organisations deny doing any such thing, but the EU has attempted to pressure the Macedonian government into political concessions by warning that up to $80 million worth of aid could be lost if they are obstructive.

NATO leaders are ready to send in troops to help the situation by disarming rebels following a political settlement in Macedonia. What the alliance wants to avoid is NATO being forced to police yet another Balkan state which has been partitioned on ethnic lines, a result some Albanians are seeking.

Efforts of western negotiators to restart political settlement peace talks are complicated by the tensions within the Macedonian authorities, with President Boris Trajkovski appearing keener on a deal than Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski.

Georgievski has rejected the peace framework proposals on the language and other questions as “an attempt to break up Macedonian institutions."

When he visited U.S. troops at Camp Bondsteel in neighbouring Kosovo on Tuesday, Bush urged support for the Macedonian cease-fire. He warned Kosovo’s Albanian majority in a statement: “Let me be clear: the U.S. stands against all who use or support violence against democracy and the rule of law.

“Those here in Kosovo who support the insurgency in Macedonia are hurting the interests of ethnic Albanians throughout the region. The people of Kosovo should focus on Kosovo.” But Bush did not meet Kosovan or Macedonian leaders during his Balkans visit.