Trajkovski warns of Macedonia war

German troops were delayed by a protest by Macedonian nationalists

SKOPJE, Macedonia (CNN) -- Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski has warned MPs the country faces all-out war if they do not ratify a NATO-backed peace plan.

Trajkovski's plea for support came as he opened a crucial debate on approving the peace deal in the former Yugoslav republic after protesters forced a six-hour delay.

Macedonian Slav demonstrators claiming a "sellout at gunpoint to Albanian guerrillas" blocked all entrances to parliament and barred lawmakers from entering the building.

The debate centres on whether to consider constitutional reforms granting new rights to Maceonia's ethnic Albanians in exchange for the surrender of weapons to NATO by rebel fighters.

"This agreement is not perfect, but no agreement is. It's the best we have at the moment and it has some very positive aspects," Trajkovski said. "The alternative is war."

AUDIO CNN's Walter Rodgers reports on who was behind the protests 730K / 67 sec WAV sound    IN-DEPTH Macedonia: Hurdles to peace   •  Balkan hotspots   •  Interactive map   •  Macedonia's military   •  News search   •  Audio/video archive   •  In-Depth: Yugoslavia   •  In-Depth: Kosovo   RESOURCES Picture gallery Operation Essential Harvest

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers says the demonstrators, who threw eggs at MPs and smashed a TV camera, were in angry mood.

Many were Macedonian Slavs who had been displaced from their homes during the recent conflict between government forces and Albanian rebels, he said.

Protesters waved red and yellow Macedonian flags and held banners saying, "U.S. and NATO leave Macedonia in 48 hours," and "We demand the resignation of the entire government," and calling for Russia to intervene.

But Trajkovski was finally able to make his speech to a quorum of 61 of parliament's 120 MPs.

He staunchly defended the agreement, saying it respected Macedonia's territorial integrity and kept the vital overall control of the police in the hands of the central state.

"The agreement we have in front of us embodies European values of human rights, democracy and compromise. It eliminates the reason for war and inter-ethnic conflict in the republic of Macedonia," the president told parliament.

Former prime minister Branko Crvenkovski agreed, declaring that a No vote was the surest way to tear the former Yugoslav republic apart and ensure its eventual transformation into an international protectorate, as happened to Bosnia and Kosovo.

"Never under-estimate or mock peace," he urged. "Remember all those references to Macedonia as the oasis of peace in the Balkans. You only really appreciate it when you have lost it."

The parliamentary debate, which was adjourned on Friday evening, is expected to continue over the weekend with MPs voting on Tuesday on whether to begin the process of changing the constitution.

Rogers said a Western diplomat he talked to expected a vote in favour by the required two-thirds majority but predicted a long and arduous ratification process.

He said Trajkovski had called on the international community to help Macedonia out of its present difficulties, appealing to Europe for an economic aid package.

He also appealed to the U.N. for a force to patrol the borders with Kosovo to help restore peace by stopping ethnic Albanians from coming in again.

In another appeal, related to a long territorial dispute with neighbouring Greece, he asked for his country to be known internationally by the name "Republic of Macedonia."

The debate began in an atmosphere of widespread scepticism that the rebels will not fully surrender their arms, raising fears that the peace deal would not get the necessary two-thirds approval.

NATO says "Operation Essential Harvest" intends to collect about 3,300 weapons but some hardline nationalist Macedonian politicians -- including the prime minister and interior minister -- estimate the rebels forces have more than 60,000 weapons.

The start of the debate required that the rebels surrender a third of the agreed total and NATO said this had been surpassed on Thursday with more than 1,400 weapons handed over.

If the peace deal is adopted by the necessary two-thirds majority, MPs will then discuss any suggested draft amendments.

This phase will start once Trajkovski informs the assembly chairman two-thirds of the weapons have been collected.

In a third phase, which will start after the president informs the assembly that all weapons have been collected, the deputies will start adopting the amendments.

Each amendment needs the support of at least 80 per cent of the MPs for it to be adopted.

There were other protests overnight by Macedonian nationalists. Lorries were used to block the Blace crossing on the border with the NATO-run Yugoslav province of Kosovo, delaying the arrival of German soldiers who are part of NATO's mission here until the early hours of Friday.

Macedonian villagers from Matejce, about 15 miles north of Skopje, also blocked another border crossing to protest NATO's mission.

NATO says the guerrilla National Liberation Army (NLA) will disband after the weapons collection mission -- an assertion disputed by Macedonians who fear the guerrillas will carry on fighting or rise up again at a later stage if the political situation is not to their liking.

The ethnic Albanian insurgency erupted six months ago. Rebels say they want more rights for the minority that is a third of Macedonia's two million population.