Parties in Macedonia Strike Deal on PeaceThe leaders of the main parties involved in peace talks reached an accord on Wednesday night aimed at bringing an end to the war between ethnic Albanians and government forces in Macedonia.The deal came after a month-long tough negotiation which was presided over by Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski in the resort town of Ohrid. The pact, including a framework and three supplementaries, will be inked on August 13 in the Macedonian capital of Skopje, reports reaching here said. Peace talks between the two Macedonian and two ethnic Albanian parties started on July 5 and focused on the framework which includes the status and use of the Albanian language, police reform and an increase in the number of ethnic Albanian policemen. The parties reached agreements on the language issue and police makeup in the ethnic Albanian-dominated areas on August 1 and August 5 respectively, after heated bargaining. On August 8, the two sides agreed on the three supplementaries about the mechanism of Constitutional amendment, procedures for law amendment and trust-building measures. But if the agreement coming out of the talks, which had been held under the pressure of Western mediators, can bring peace to the war-torn country, remains to be seen as fresh violence was reported on the day of the final breakthrough. On Wednesday, a Macedonian security forces motorcade was ambushed on the road linking Tetovo and Skopje by the ethnic Albanian "National Liberation Army." Ten Macedonian soldiers died and another three were injured in the clash. Meanwhile, some ethnic Albanians held protests in Skopje, and in Prilep, curfew was imposed after houses of some Albanians were burned down. |
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