Macedonia: Peace deal back on track

Buckling to Western pressure, the speaker of Macedonia’s parliament agreed to restart the debate today on reforms to boost the status of the ethnic Albanian minority, following the weekend impasse.

The debate on whether to change the country’s constitution to guarantee more representation to ethnic Albanians is an essential part of the peace effort designed to end a six-month insurgency by ethnic Albanian militants.

Parliament speaker Stojan Andov suspended the debate on Saturday, setting demands for its resumption. But he came under intense pressure from political opponents and the Western architects of a peace accord that calls for the rebels to give up arms in exchange for greater rights for their people.

Western envoys, including European Union envoy Francois Leotard, US Balkan advisor James Pardew and Nato’s ambassador to Macedonia Hansjorg Eiff had put intense pressure on Andov to move the process forward.

They had warned of risks to Nato’s mission to collect 3,300 weapons, to be voluntarily given up by rebels, by late September. More than a third have already been surrendered.

Andov had insisted on a presidential guarantee that everyone who fled the fighting could return home safely. Up to 120,000 people remain displaced by the fighting, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

After meeting with Andov yesterday, President Boris Trajkovski gave ‘‘assurances that the existing problems would be overcome’’, a presidential statement said.

‘‘For me that was enough to restart the process,’’ Andov said.

Andov claimed the suspension had a ‘‘positive effect’’ to bring attention to the plight of refugees.

But he maintained a sceptical view of the peace process.

‘‘It should be backed only if it truly opens up a future prospect for Macedonia,’’ he said in an interview with local television.

The question before parliament now is whether to move the process to the next step.

The political conflict is expected to get deeper as events move toward approving the wider political and language rights to the ethnic Albanians, who comprise about a third of Macedonia’s two million people.

The suspension of debate was widely seen as face-saving bid by the main VMRO party. Its leader, Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, signed the peace accord. But now he must answer to a conservative base outraged by the perception that the ethnic Albanians have won concessions through violence.

Georgievski is expected to make a speech in parliament that could indicate whether there will be serious defections from the peace plan.