Amnesty law brings peace hope

Albanian weapons collected last year in NATO's "Operation Essential Harvest"

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Macedonia's parliament has approved an amnesty for former ethnic Albanian rebels.

The move was welcomed by NATO and the European Union as a key step towards establishing peace in the Balkan state.

The amnesty law, adopted late on Thursday, is a key plank of a Western-backed peace accord that brought to an end six-months of fighting last year which had threatened to escalate into all-out civil war.

It covers crimes including high treason, mutiny, armed rebellion and conspiracy against the state.

Sixty-four of the 120 member assembly voted for the amnesty with 12 voting against. The remaining members either abstained or did not attend the vote, The Associated Press reported.

RESOURCES In-Depth: Macedonia - Hurdles to Peace

Western diplomats welcomed the deal. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said in a statement: "I congratulate the government and the parliamentarians for their vision and courage in voting for this law."

Klaus Vollers, NATO's ambassador to Macedonia, added: "We are very happy. This law will accelerate reconciliation between the two ethnic communities."

Adoption of the law paves the way for an international donors conference that is to be held at European Union headquarters on Tuesday.

The six-month conflict had seen government troops fighting ethnic Albanian rebels who were calling for improved civil rights including greater use of their language and better voting representation.

Irena Guzelova, a spokeswoman for the European Union in Skopje, said: "With the adoption of the law, the elected representatives of this country have taken a courageous and bold step towards peace, stability and reconciliation."

Macedonia first issued an amnesty decree last year at the behest of Western peace brokers.

But nationalists in the ruling coalition, who want to be able to prosecute insurgents, had prevented its enshrinement in law until now.

The amnesty covers crimes committed during and related to the conflict by ethnic Albanian insurgents who voluntarily disarmed under NATO supervision before September 26. It also covers those who have already been jailed.

Several thousand are believed to be among those who will receive the amnesty.

It excludes crimes that may be the basis of indictments by the U.N. war crimes tribunal, which said last year it was investigating both Macedonian and ethnic Albanian forces over incidents in the conflict.

Under the Western-backed peace deal agreed in August, the rebels agreed to disarm and disband in return for better state treatment of ethnic Albanians, such as more official use of their language and increased representation in the police.

About 4,000 weapons were handed over to NATO during Operation Essential Harvest.

The amnesty seeks to defuse lingering ethnic tensions and enable Macedonian police patrols and refugees to return to the northern rebel heartland safely and quickly.

It is also intended to help former fighters come down from the hills and resume civilian jobs.

Multi-ethnic police units are gradually resuming patrols in former rebel villages as part of the peace process.

NATO extended its 1,000-strong peacekeeping force for three months in mid-February, on a request from the Macedonian government.

Its mission provides security for international monitors overseeing implementation of the peace deal.