Macedonia's Largest Albanian Party Calls On All The Participants In The Conflict To Lay Down Arms

Macedonia's largest Albanian party - the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) - has called on all the sides involved in the conflict raging in the country to stop violence. Hostilities between government forces and armed Albanian separatists have been going on for several days now. The DPA statement stresses that all the sides involved in the conflict must stop combat actions and start a dialogue. The party recommends Macedonian Albanians to show restraint and preserve the state's integrity, while the world community calls to contribute to stopping the military operation, continuation of the dialogue and refugees' return. The statement also stresses that the DPA remains in the government in order to order to step up the political dialogue as the only variant of the settlement of the conflict. At the same time, the party warns that underestimating its role in the government may lead to the loss of its influence among ethnic Albanians and make them take up arms. (kul/kaf)