Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski called Tuesday for energetic patrolling by UN peacekeepers along his country's border with Kosovo.
He also told the UN Human Rights Commission here that ethnic Albanian rebels should be punished along with the political leaders who back them.
He said the basic aim of the extremists was to undermine Macedonia's multicultural democracy.
He said they had a racist ideology and were governed by criminal interests who wanted to promote instabiity in the region so they could carry on their activities which included trafficking in drugs and women.
Macedonia was hit in February and March by Albanian rebels demanding constitutional equality for the country's ethnic Albanian minority.
Trajkovski told the 53-member commission that Skopje's military response to the violence around the Tetovo northwest region was "legitimate" and within the "principle of proportionality".
Macedonia would fight determinedly to maintain and strengthen its stability and protecting its territorial integrity using all resources at its disposal, he added.
"Trajkovski said an "urgent, energetic and consistent control by KFOR and UNMIK (provisional UN administration in Kosovo) on the northern border of Macedonia with Kosovo is necessary in order to prevent any kind of movement on the part of the extremists and their illegal trespassing into Macedonian territory."
But he said that at the same time the Macedonian government would intensify its internal dialogue aimed at enhancing inter-ethnic relations.
On Monday, Macedonia pledged to improve inter-community ties after signing an EU agreement which binds the former Yugoslav republic to EU standards on democracy and economic reform – GENEVA (AFP)
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