I see no further reason for armed conflicts in Macedonia

Former rebel spokesman Hajrulla Misini

The 120-seat assembly passed the law by 64 to12.

"We decided to give peace a chance," Cedomir Kraljevski of the main Macedonian party VMRO-DPMNE, said after the vote.

Hajrulla Misini, a former spokesman for the largest ethnic Albanian rebel group, the National Liberation Army, said the passing of the law "is the biggest step towards reaching a peace settlement in Macedonia".

"I see no further reason for armed conflicts in Macedonia," Mr Misini, who is better known as commander Shpati, told the French news agency AFP.

Still tense

The country's four main political parties - two of which are Macedonian and two ethnic Albanian - agreed last month on a text for the bill, which the government approved before passing to parliament for the vote.

The amnesty sets out to pardon "all those linked with the crisis", when seven months of fighting between government forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas threatened to spiral out of control.

It will apply to all guerrillas who handed in their arms under a Nato-supervised weapons collection last year.

Anyone who took part in the fighting cannot be arrested or put on trial for acts of rebellion or armed violence.

However, anybody suspected of committing war crimes will still face prosecution under the jurisdiction of the UN tribunal in The Hague.

Despite the vote, Western diplomats say the situation in the country remains tense.