Skopke - Macedonia's parliament ratified a milestone peace accord with minority Albanians in a surprise early morning vote today after almost two months of delay. The MPs proclaimed the 15 constitutional amendments as law with unexpected speed just 20 minutes after adopting them one by one by two-thirds majorities.
Hardline nationalists had almost wrecked the peace accord days before, when the police minister sent special forces into the Albanian heartland, leading to fighting, arrests and retaliatory kidnappings.
The reforms would decentralise power and grant Albanians jobs in public service, reflecting their one-third share of the population. They would also allow limited official use of the Albanian language and remove references in the preamble suggesting that minorities are second-class citizens.
