German troops may join NATO mission in Macedonia

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, AUG. 29. The German Parliament is likely to give its ``grudging approval'' to the participation of 500 German soldiers in the peace-keeping mission in Macedonia, where some 3,500 NATO troops are assigned to disarm ethnic Albanian rebels. The operation began early this week.

NATO officials have expressed satisfaction with the progress both on the military and political fronts. The alliance's secretary general, Lord Robertson, arrived in Macedonia today to oversee the operation.

The debate in the German Parliament comes two days after the NATO operation suffered its first casualty when a young British soldier died after a lump of concrete was dropped from a bridge on his vehicle. The British officer commanding the NATO troops was quoted as saying on Wednesday that he was satisfied with the degree of cooperation received by the peace-keepers from the ethnic Albanian-led National Liberation Front.

But despite the seeming display of goodwill and co- operation, there is eerie nervousness all around as Macedonians vehemently dispute that Albanians are hiding far greater quantities of arms than what they are ``voluntarily surrendering'' to NATO peace- keepers.

Macedonian Slav journalists today said: ``This is a farce. Everybody knows they (ethnic Albanians) have hidden away many more weapons.'' Macedonian Slavs talk of some 85,000 weapons while NATO officials say they would be satisfied if they collect 3,300 weapons from ethnic Albanians by this Friday.

The only logical conclusion one can draw is that there is total breakdown of trust between the two communities on both sides of the ethnic and religious divide.

Rightly or wrongly, most Macedonians feel betrayed by NATO and Western powers, who are seen leaning towards the Albanians and ``rewarding the rebels for their aggression.''

Lord Robertson arrived in Macedonia on Wednesday on a mission to reassure both sides about NATO's desire to establish peace and democracy in the region. Much will depend on his diplomatic dexterity to inspire fresh confidence in the NATO mission which is called ``Operation Essential Harvest''.

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Section  : International
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