Defiant NLA rebels began handing in arms to NATO in Macedonia

RADUSA, Macedonia, Sept 7 (AFP)(9/7/2001) - Defiant rebels began handing in their weapons to NATO troops near this northwest Macedonian village on Friday, a day after parliament approved a peace deal giving more rights to ethnic Albanians. Up to 200 National Liberation Army (NLA) fighters chanting "We are Albanian heroes" and "there is only one Albania" marched in double file across a bridge to stand beside a football pitch where the NATO operation is taking place. As the rebels arrived, a loud boom could be heard of a captured Macedonian army tank being destroyed by NATO munitions experts, sparking chants of "UCK, UCK, UCK," the Albanian acronym for the NLA, from the assembled ranks. The column of NLA fighters, most of them uniformed teenagers or men in their early twenties, was followed by an armoured personnel carrier (APC), also captured from the Macedonian army. Defiant fighters sat atop the damaged APC, which was adorned with red double-breasted eagle that has been the symbol of the guerrilla army both here, in Kosovo and in southern Serbia. The fighters carried mostly assault rifles slung over their shoulders, across their chests or carried in their hands, but a number of machine guns could be seen among the weaponry. Earlier a British NATO spokesman, Captain Ian Hutchison, said the collection operation "seems to be relaxed at the moment." The alliance aims to collect 1,100 more NLA arms by September 13 during the second phase of Operation Essential Harvest, which is scheduled to end on September 26 with 3,300 weapons being collected in all. Some 600 British, Dutch, Italian and Norwegian troops were stationed around the collection site as the rebels began surrendering their arms two-by-two to soldiers at a low breeze-block building here. Italian personnel were stationed on high ground above the village of Radusa lying in a small valley between scrub-covered hills. One rebel "commander", 19-year-old Mevlud Bushi, said the NLA's relationship with NATO was good and that his fighters were happy to talk with them. When asked whether 3,300 weapons was all the NLA had, Bushi said: "We are giving up every last bullet" but he added "if we feel concerned at any point we will buy new arms." Young fighters, including a few boys, pressed in as Bushi, dressed in a black uniform and dark sunglasses, warned of what could happen if the authorities renege on their commitments when NATO pulls out of Macedonia. "If they don't sign (parliament) it will be war again. If they sign it will be peace," he said. The weapons site opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and was scheduled to remain open until 4:00 pm, but it may be reopened again if more time is needed, NATO sources said. The Russian-made T-55 tank, one of two seized by the NLA, was destroyed with plastic explosive charges set by British and Norwegian experts. "It is another piece of NLA armoury and we have disposed of it in the appropriate manner," Hutchison said. Hutchison said the T-55, by far the heaviest piece of weaponary handed in by the NLA, had been damaged and was able to fire shells but could not be moved. Shortly before the NLA began handing in their arms, Britain's army chief General Sir Michael Walker arrived to survey the operation. The British army's chief of general staff, on a flying visit to British troops in Macedonia, watched over the rebel procession as the fighters filed forward two-by-two to hand in their weapons. The arms are being "bagged, tagged and boxed," in army parlance and will be flown in a sea container by helicopter to the Krivolak military base in central Macedonia where preparations are being made for destroying them.

//Shqiptarja.com