Al-Ahram Weekly | International

		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 30 August - 5 September 2001 Issue No.549
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A bad omen
AS soldiers streamed into the Macedonian capital of Skopje to fill out the 3,900-strong British-led NATO force last week, the world was watching to see if a shaky truce between the Macedonian government and ethnic- Albanian rebels of the National Liberation Army (NLA) would hold. But the official start of the dramatically named Operation Essential Harvest was overshadowed by the death of a British soldier on Monday, who died when youths threw a chunk of concrete at his vehicle on the highway.
With the go-ahead in place, NATO's third mission in the troubled Balkans was launched on Monday, when troops began to collect weapons surrendered by the NLA at specified collection sites around the country. NATO officials agreed on the collection of some 3,300 weapons -- a number that Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski balked at as "laughable and humiliating for Macedonia." Although it is assumed that the NLA will squirrel away numerous weapons, the government claims that the rebels' arsenal exceeds 80,000 and insists that even a token gesture should amount to more.
NATO is evidently queasy about the slippery slope of involvement in another Balkan conflict, but with the peace accord relying so heavily on NATO overseeing rebel disarmament, it would be devastating to such a fragile peace to abort a Macedonia mission at this late stage. Sporadic skirmishes between rebels and Macedonian forces have threatened to derail the mission, but NATO insists that the operation will not exceed 30 days.
Ethnic Albanians make up roughly a third of Macedonia's population, but they are not recognised as equal citizens by the country's constitution and are poorly represented in the national police force. Though many believe that the guerrillas are ultimately fighting for secession, the NLA has repeatedly stated that its goals are more moderate: constitutional changes recognising Albanian ethnicity and making Albanian an official second language; better representation in the government's various organs.
Dangerous lesson
WESTERN diplomats returned to the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, less than a week after they were refused visa extensions while seeking access to eight foreign aid workers being held by authorities. The jailed workers were sequestered behind a dense diplomatic bulwark for some three weeks pending the completion of investigations by Afghanistan's ruling Taliban into charges of proselytising. On Sunday, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were finally allowed to visit the foreign workers, but not the 16 Afghan co- workers arrested with them. All the detainees worked for the German-based aid organisation Shelter Now International (SNI).
Protests last week invoking the hallowed precepts of international law fell on deaf ears, with the Taliban claiming that the enormity of the crime -- alleged attempts to convert local Muslims to Christianity -- justified extreme measures. But this week, officials offered a more conciliatory stance, issuing new visas to eager emissaries from the US, Australia and Germany, who arrived on Monday, along with relatives of two workers. Conflicting edicts regarding proselytising make it impossible to know what penalty the workers face, be it a brief detention followed by expulsion, or death. Taliban officials point to damning evidence, allegedly collected from SNI's office, including bibles and other religious texts translated into local languages.
In the wake of the arrest, aid organisations providing much-needed relief to impoverished Afghans are under scrutiny by the leadership, sparking fears of an aid exodus from the war-torn nation. Earlier this week, Mullah Mohamed Omar announced that aid organisations would be banned from using the Internet -- a crippling blow to workers in a country with poor communication facilities.
Stage two
TWO years after the landmark vote that liberated East Timor from Indonesian occupation and launched weeks of devastating violence, East Timorese were anxious but determined to take part in the nation's first ever free elections on Thursday. The general election, to be conducted by the UN-administered transitional government, will elect 88 representatives for the fledgling nation's assembly -- the body that will most likely become the country's first parliament.
An overwhelming majority voted for independence in the fated referendum of August 1999. But pro-Jakarta militias, backed by a disgruntled Indonesian military, laid waste to East Timor, killing hundreds and razing the capital, Dili. Some 280,000 East Timorese refugees remain in camps in Indonesian West Timor and the violence is still fresh in the minds of East Timorese residents. UN officials are leaving nothing to chance, stepping up security measures and beefing up troops along the West Timor border. Despite the high level of tension, campaigning has been largely peaceful, and UN officials felt confident that the vote would pass without incident.
Though many East Timorese erroneously believed they were voting for a president, Thursday's vote is for the assembly, which will have 90 days to draft a constitution. The Fretilin Party -- formerly the revolutionary movement that spent a quarter century fighting for independence -- is widely expected to take a comfortable majority. Also this week, popular resistance leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao reluctantly agreed to stand in next year's presidential election.
Left hanging
THE fate of some 400 refugees stranded on a Norwegian ship hung in the balance on Monday as three countries bickered over responsibility. The refugees -- from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia -- were rescued from a sinking Indonesian ferry boat by the Norwegian cargo ship, the Tampa. The refugees immediately demanded to be taken to Christmas Island, a remote Australian island that serves as a popular drop-off point for so-called boat people en route from Indonesia and seeking asylum in Australia.
But Australia, experiencing a heavy influx of illegal immigrants, refused the ship entry into Australian waters. Norway, unwittingly pulled into the drama, insists the matter should be dealt with between Indonesia -- which equally refuses to allow the boat to return -- and Australia. Meanwhile, the Tampa's captain, Arne Rinnan, has indicated that some desperate refugees had threatened to jump overboard if they were not taken to Australia.

Compiled by Nyier Abdou

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