By Matthew Robinson

SKOPJE (Reuters) - Thousands of Macedonians protested on Monday against plans to give greater local powers to the country's ethnic Albanian minority, a proposal that has already sparked violence.

Riot police guarded the parliament building in the capital, Skopje, as around 15,000 people demonstrated against the plan, which they say will ultimately divide the Balkan state along ethnic lines.

The protest, timed to coincide with the start of a parliament debate on the bill, was a sign of increased ethnic tension three years after clashes between government forces and Albanian guerrillas threatened another Balkan war.

"This kind of thing can't be resolved by parliament, this will be resolved by the people," Liberal Party leader Stojan Andov told protesters, who clutched banners reading "Traitors" and "You're dividing Macedonia."

The crowd, soaked by heavy rain, chanted for the government to resign.

The government wants to redraw municipal boundaries and give the 25 percent Albanian minority greater control in areas where they form a majority, a move the West says is crucial to Macedonia's ambitions to join NATO (news - web sites) and the European Union (news - web sites).

It represents the final step in implementing the so-called Ohrid accord which ended the 2001 clashes, but is proving highly unpopular among the Macedonian majority.

RIOTS IN STRUGA

Violence flared on Friday when protesters in the western town of Struga hurled petrol bombs at the party offices of a government minister and stoned Albanian-owned shops, injuring at least 40 people.

Struga is one of the towns where Albanian political leaders would take control of schools, health and economic development if municipal boundaries are redrawn.

The government, which includes a party that emerged from the guerrilla force, also wants Skopje to become a bilingual city with street signs and official documents in Albanian and Macedonian.

Parliament is expected to debate the plan for several days.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana gave the deal his support on Sunday after talks in Brussels with Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski.

Most ethnic Albanians in Macedonia live in towns in the west bordering Albania and Kosovo, the majority Albanian province in Serbia administered by the United Nations (news - web sites) since NATO's 1999 bombing campaign to halt Serb repression.

Western powers are anxious to ensure Kosovo's demand for independence, which is expected to come to a head next year, does not destabilize its neighbors, including Macedonia.

(Additional reporting by Kole Casule)

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