FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Ohrid Agreement is clear on this issue. It requires that any language spoken by more than 20% of the population should be co-official with Macedonian.
Today I received a letter from the chairman of the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) Ali Ahmeti (the main Albanian opposition party in North Macedonia). The purpose of the letter is to generate action from the US and the EU on recent political and constitutional developments in North Macedonia that threaten the historic achievements of the Ohrid Agreement, as well as the fundamental principles of equality and peace, especially for the Albanian community.
Ali Ahmeti has raised concerns regarding the intentions of the Constitutional Court to cancel the key provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages, which established the Albanian language as an equal official language according to Amendment 5 of the Constitution. Also the efforts to stop identifying the ethnic affiliation of citizens within the state institutions defined by the Ohrid Agreement.
-Server response
Regular readers may imagine that I have ambivalent feelings about some of the issues raised in that letter.
Language
The Ohrid Agreement is clear on this issue. It requires that any language spoken by more than 20% of the population should be co-official with Macedonian.
I don't see how you question this obligation without creating more problems than North Macedonia already has. It was an important part of the 2001 peace agreement. Its preservation is important.
Ethnic identification of government employees
The second issue concerns the ethnic identification of government employees. Of course I prefer a system that is color blind and merit based. But not determining the ethnic identification of government employees will not make government hiring blind. The names show who is Albanian and who is Macedonian. I suspect that the purpose of this proposal is to continue the current dominance of Macedonians in high government positions.
Faking color blindness won't work. Macedonia needs to diversify its public sector workforce to more fully reflect the diversity of the population. I'm not a fan of quotes. But affirmative action with prior qualifications is a process that can yield reasonable results. Many Albanians have a qualification that most Macedonians lack: they speak both languages. Government employment should take this into account.
Fair representation in government
The third issue of fair representation is not fully specified. I think it refers to the positions given to ethnic Albanians in the current government. This is more of a political complaint than a legal or constitutional complaint. One of the main Macedonian complaints against the previous government was the predominance of Albanians in key positions. The winners of the last elections sought to weaken the Albanian presence because they won the elections.
DUI's Albanian rivals negotiated the current coalition agreement. If they got it wrong, that's a matter for the next election. American and European diplomats may point this out to the Prime Minister, but it is not really an international issue.
The last lines
So my answers are: Yes to Ali Ahmeti on the issue of language! No to the government on the issue of ethnic identification and in the end let the voters decide on the issue of fair representation. But what difference does it make what I think? Basically, these are issues that Macedonian citizens should decide on.
Ali Ahmet's complete letter
I am writing to you today with deep concern about the recent political and constitutional developments in North Macedonia that threaten the historic achievements of the Ohrid Agreement, as well as the fundamental principles of equality and peace in our multi-ethnic state, especially for the Albanian community in the north. Macedonia.
It is worrying that the plans, surprisingly announced by the government itself, show that the Constitutional Court intends to annul key provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages, which established the Albanian language as an equal official language under Amendment 5 of the Constitution. This represents a severe blow to the Ohrid Agreement, inter-ethnic harmony and stability in the country, potentially returning us to pre-2001 conditions that led to crisis and conflict.
Moreover, the decision of the Constitutional Court to prohibit the identification of the ethnic affiliation of citizens within state institutions violates the principle of collective rights of ethnic communities and annuls the essential balancing mechanisms and the principle of Badinter, which are essential to the Ohrid Agreement.
These mechanisms were created to guarantee the collective rights of ethnic communities based on demographic reality, providing essential protection against any form of domination. By eliminating the declaration of ethnic affiliation, the Constitutional Court is violating the Constitution itself, the fundamental value of which is fair and adequate representation, effectively returning us to the conditions before Ohrid.
Finally, after the last elections, the fundamental principle of the Ohrid Agreement, which requires the formation of a political majority based on fair representation of ethnic communities, has been seriously violated.
This action is not simply a matter of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), but affects the principle of fair representation guaranteed by Amendment 6 of the Constitution of North Macedonia, serving as a safeguard against the dominance of the majority over the minorities.
These three important obstacles to the foundations of the Ohrid Agreement pose a serious threat to peace, stability, inter-ethnic harmony and multi-ethnic democracy in North Macedonia.
These are not merely domestic political issues, but have serious regional implications for overall stability. These interventions threaten to dismantle the key elements of peace and equality, returning us to a period of crisis and conflict.
At this critical moment, I ask for joint and decisive action to protect the achievements of the Ohrid Agreement and the guaranteed rights of the Albanian community. Your commitment to international awareness and the mobilization of relevant institutions regarding this constitutional and political crisis is essential.
Thank you for your tireless efforts to promote peace, stability and European integration in the Western Balkans./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "PeaceFare"
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