KOSTUNICA ATTACKS NATO

The President of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica, has attacked the NATO force, Kfor, accusing this force of allowing terrorist attacks from Albanian separatists to reach Macedonia, in his words: “the propagation of terrorism from Kosovo into Macedonia and the south of Serbia”. President Kostunica describes the situation as “a new failure” by Kfor, which he accuses of being concerned primarily with saving its own troops from confrontation with the Albanians and not performing their duty, which is to protect innocent civilians from the Albanian separatist factions. Kfor is “worried only about its own safety and not about the safety of Serbs, Macedonians and moderate Albanians, who also suffer from these acts of terrorism”. The Albanian faction fighting in Macedonia calls itself UCK (National Liberation Army, in Albanian). Claiming to represent 25% of the population of Macedonia, the UCK again yesterday launched attacks, as the situation deteriorates by the day. The US Ambassador in Skopje states that “ The response (by Macedonia) should be appropriate with the situation on the ground and should be applied in coordination with NATO. When I speak about an appropriate response, I speak of a military one, but also a political one”. One may add that since NATO, in its haste to show off and muscle into an area totally outside its understanding, is responsible for the situation, then it is their duty, and nobody else’s, to contain the wave of terrorism and banditry which they caused. In basic language, which seems to be the only one they understand: clear up the mess you have made!

TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY, PRAVDA.RU, LISBON