Subject: Skopje warns developments in southern Serbia might threaten region
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 13:00:14 PST
From: C-afp@... (AFP)
Organization: Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
Newsgroups: clari.world.europe.balkans,clari.world.europe,biz.clarinet.sample
Followup-To: biz.clarinet.sample


SKOPJE, Dec 21 (AFP) - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski
voiced concerns Thursday over the situation in southern Serbia,
warning that it might spark a new cycle of instability in the
Balkans.
"The situation in southern Serbia is concerning all of us,"
Trajkovski told deputies during his annual address to parliament.
"If this attempt by (ethnic Albanian) extremists is successful
in southern Serbia, than it will be the beginning of a new cycle of
instability in the region," Trajkovski warned.
He described developments in southern Serbia as a "serious
challenge to the principles of international law, and to the
authority of international entities and their obligations in the
region."
In recent weeks, increased rebel activity in southern Serbia has
raised tensions there.
The guerrillas of the self-styled Liberation Army for Presevo,
Medvedja and Bujanovac (UCPMB) want the three towns they claim to be
fighting for to be integrated into an independent Kosovo.
Macedonia itself has an ethnic Albanian minority, making up
nearly a quarter of the country's two-million-strong population, who
firmly support an independent Kosovo.
This has sparked fears among Macedonians for their own country's
integrity and ethnic balance.