Balkan Guerrillas Turn Into Civilians

SIPKOVICA, Macedonia -- Just a few weeks ago, Enveri wore a camouflage uniform and boots. Now, as a fragile peace takes hold in Macedonia, the high-ranking ethnic-Albanian rebel commander is back in jeans and sneakers.

Without too much turmoil, this troubled Balkan country is returning to something like normalcy. Its rival sides are working to make a tentative peace pact stick, militants like Enveri have turned in their weapons and life is gradually regaining its regular rhythm.

"Former soldiers are returning to normal life. Those who had jobs have now returned to their work, students have returned to their studies," said Enveri, offering only his nom-de-guerre in an interview in Sipkovica in Macedonia's rugged northwest, where the rebellion erupted in February.

Enveri, among the rebels' top 10 highest-ranking commanders, believes the war is over for good. Significantly, he also thinks that minority ethnic Albanians, who account for about a third of Macedonia's 2 million people, got a fair deal under the Western-brokered peace accord.

As their part of the plan, the rebels handed over to NATO troops some 3,400 weapons -- from sidearms to rocket launchers -- and have declared the disbanding of their National Liberation Army. In doing so, the focus and pressure shifts to the Macedonian-dominated government to keep its side of the bargain by giving the restive community broader rights and more influence in the government, police, army and education.

Halfway to a lasting peace, Enveri and the estimated 4,000 to 6,000 other ex-rebels are trying to readjust to civilian life. They await a government decree granting them amnesty as part of the peace deal.

"Until a few days ago, we would spend our nights making military plans and strategies. Now, we spend hours playing chess or cards," Enveri said, sitting in the living room of a large, three-story family house that served as rebel headquarters during the six-month war.

A couple of radio units lying around are among the few reminders that the place once was the nerve center of the insurgency. A sofa and a coffee table are back in place, albeit decorated with an Albanian flag.

The government wants its police to restore authority over the ethnic-Albanian-populated areas. However, pressured by the United States and the European Union, it has said it would first fulfill some of its obligations under the peace accord, including bringing more ethnic Albanians into the police force.

An ethnically balanced police force is what the insurgents expect. Enveri looks forward to the day when officers from the disbanded NLA will patrol alongside the Macedonians they fought against until recently.

"Our population will feel secure only when their sons and daughters are serving in that force," he said. Ethnic Albanians, he added, see the United States, the European Union and NATO as guarantors that all will go well.

For now, Enveri and others in Sipkovica keep busy chopping wood and preparing for another harsh Balkan winter. One day, he says, he might even get a 9-to-5 job -- that is, if he can land one despite Macedonia's traditionally weak economy, in a job market that only got worse during the conflict.

And if the political situation suddenly sours?

"There is no chance that the NLA will be reactivated, regardless of how the process goes," said Enveri. "But I do not want to wash my uniform. I want it to hold the smell and remind me of the days of war."