Major seizure of weapons taken from ethnic Albanian rebels..

(31 May 2001) Skopje 1. Various of rifles, machines guns and bullets 2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Stevo Penearovsk, Police spokesman: "Here as you can see we are exposing part of the weapons and ammunition and other explosive devices which we have found on the terrain of Kumanovo in the last ten days and the weapons and ammunition clearly shows that from the other side we had a very good prepared enemy because all those behind me with high calibres are very dangerous if used against our forces but it doesn't matter we are going to clear out the terrain no matter how the equipment is good and how the enemy is prepared to fight with us." 3. Various of rifles, machines guns and bullets Matejce 4. Wide shot of smoke from army shells rising over village buildings 5. Army tank firing into village STORYLINE: Macedonia's prime minister said on Thursday that he will meet key ethnic Albanian demands that have caused them to take up arms against the government. It's a major policy shift designed to end an insurgency that has threatened to push the country into an all-out war. In the capital Skopje the authorities showed reporters weapons captured from rebels around the town of Kumanovo over the past few days. Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said Macedonia could rewrite its constitution to upgrade the position of ethnic Albanians, who make up about one-third of the population but argue they are marginalised. In the past the government has rejected the ethnic Albanian demands, saying constitutional changes would eventually lead to a division of the country into an ethnic Albanian and a Slav-dominated part. It has also refused to negotiate with the rebels, whom it considers terrorists. Georgievski's comments marked a major change from the government's tough positions of the past several months, since the ethnic Albanian rebels took up arms saying they are fighting for more rights for their people. So far there has been no immediate reaction from the rebels to the offer. The United States and its allies have supported the Macedonian government in its struggle against the militants, but also have urged it to address the ethnic Albanian concerns. The insurgency that started in February has claimed nearly two dozen lives, and led to heavy fighting in northern Macedonia along the border with Kosovo. On Thursday Macedonian tanks were shelling the village of Matejce, 20 kilometres northeast of the capital. The fighting has left several thousand civilians trapped in rebel-held villages, raising international concerns about their condition. Government troops in the area have been on an offensive for the past few weeks. Only a handful of civilians have responded to a police appeal to evacuate the besieged villages. The Macedonian government claimed the rebels were using the civilians as "human shield" and would not let them go. International officials fear such clashes could engulf much of the Balkans. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...