Western powers are pressing Macedonian politicians to overcome nationalist concerns and give parliamentary approval to a NATO-backed peace accord granting greater rights to the fragile Balkan country's ethnic Albanian minority.
"Just as I expect the insurgents to deliver on their commitments, I expect the Macedonian members of parliament to also recognise their responsibilities," the NATO Secretary-General, Lord Robertson, said yesterday as he inspected weapons surrendered by the rebels to NATO troops.
Parliament is due to begin debate tomorrow on the peace accord, which must be ratified by two-thirds of its members - no small task given that Skopje has never accepted NATO's assessment of the number of arms the rebels are holding.
The accord grants an amnesty to most rebels who demobilise, gives official status to the Albanian language in some areas and provides more minority jobs.
Nationalists in the assembly have criticised both the agreement and NATO's role in it, which they view as too soft on the National Liberation Army (NLA) guerrillas who control towns and villages in Macedonia's north-west.
The French legal expert, Mr Robert Badinter, who has been involved in the discussions on the future changes to the constitution included in the August 13th peace plan, said yesterday that "everyone has a very big responsibility for the future".
"If the text is voted with a large majority, this will be a sign of a stability, the will of all to overcome the crisis," Mr Badinter said in Skopje. "The only other alternative to the vote is war."
The amendments to the constitution, which must be approved by two-thirds of the 120-seat parliament, were part of a framework peace accord signed on August 13th by leaders of the two ethnic Albanian parties and the two other major political parties.
The vote in parliament, where all the four major parties are represented, is crucial to the peace plan's survival. The accord boosts the rights of the large Albanian minority - which represents between one-quarter and one-third of the population - but also preserves a unified state.
Simultaneously with the political process, NATO troops will collect the weapons of NLA rebels who have been conducting an insurgency against government forces since February.
"If all the parties respect what has been accepted, we will vote the changes. But if they do not respect their obligations, we are not ready to make unilateral concessions," said Mr Nikola Popovski, a senior figure in the Social Democrat SDSM, the second largest Macedonian party with 25 deputies.
The debate comes at a time of growing dissatisfaction among Macedonians with the actions of the international community and NATO, whom they say will be unable to fully disarm the guerrillas.
Macedonian officials have cast doubt over the number of arms NATO has planned to collect, estimated at 3,300. Skopje has claimed the amount is anywhere between 6,000 and 85,000.
The Macedonian parliament speaker, Mr Stojan Andov, warned that the parliament session would not start today if NATO troops fail to collect one-third of the weapons by then.