SKOPJE/BRUSSELS, Aug 16 (Hina) - The peace agreement in Macedonia will require great efforts and good will on all sides, the current reality being that there is little trust and expectations of peace by either Macedonians or ethnic
Albanians and that a heavy burden will fall on the international community, reads a report the International Crisis Group (ICG) released on Thursday. The intense fighting leading up to the peace deal and the highly sensitive conditions of its implementation mean the period following the agreement is as potentially volatile as that preceding it, reads the report entitled "Macedonia: War on Hold". NATO, says ICG President and former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, must soon make some difficult decisions. "NATO cannot limit its mission to 30 days and must be prepared to do more than collect arms that are voluntarily given to it. It must seal the border with Kosovo and should provide the security assurance
SKOPJE/BRUSSELS, Aug 16 (Hina) - The peace agreement in Macedonia
will require great efforts and good will on all sides, the current
reality being that there is little trust and expectations of peace
by either Macedonians or ethnic Albanians and that a heavy burden
will fall on the international community, reads a report the
International Crisis Group (ICG) released on Thursday.
The intense fighting leading up to the peace deal and the highly
sensitive conditions of its implementation mean the period
following the agreement is as potentially volatile as that
preceding it, reads the report entitled "Macedonia: War on Hold".
NATO, says ICG President and former Australian Foreign Minister
Gareth Evans, must soon make some difficult decisions.
"NATO cannot limit its mission to 30 days and must be prepared to do
more than collect arms that are voluntarily given to it. It must
seal the border with Kosovo and should provide the security
assurance required to see the 13 August agreement through to
parliamentary ratification and implementation. And it must be
prepared to use all necessary force to make that assurance real,"
Evans believes.
Macedonians and Albanians may have reached the point where they are
not much interested in living together. It is difficult to see how
either side will gain greater confidence in the other if NATO leaves
after 30 days, the report says.
Therefore, ICG recommends that the international community first
rethink NATO's mandate, which is undoubtedly risky and politically
sensitive, and then design mechanisms of assistance to Macedonia,
both financial as well as political.
"The donors' conference anticipated shortly after ratification of
the 13 August agreement is an important opportunity. Macedonia
needs foreign assistance not only to repair the damage of the past
six months, but also to implement the agreement and ultimately
qualify for European Union membership," reads the report.
ICG is a private multinational organisation, based in Brussels,
which works on increasing the ability of the international
community to foresee and understand emerging conflicts and work
toward preventing and containing them.
(hina) rml