In North Macedonia, the Albanian parties in power and those in the opposition are marking the 23rd anniversary of the Ohrid Agreement separately and with accusations against each other for the manner of its implementation. Indeed, the agreement that ended the armed conflict between Albanian insurgents of the former National Liberation Army and the Macedonian military and police forces and brought a fragile peace in 2001 was to be implemented by 2004, but still 23 years after the signing of her, there are still complaints that this document is not taking place in practice in all areas.
Ali Ahmeti of the Democratic Union for Integration, who at that time was the political and military leader of the former National Liberation Army and coordinated the positions with the Albanian political leaders in the talks, today has the impression that the government is renouncing the Ohrid Agreement, due to the cancellation of the one who is known as a balancer and which aimed to systematize employees in the state administration according to ethnicity based on the percentage of the population and due to the appointment as Minister of Community Relations of a member of the Serbian community suspected of being close to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and with the Serbian and Russian intelligence services:
“Therefore, we are the defenders of our national dignity and the real state formation of our Republic that we do not see a future elsewhere, because we are not flocking and coming from some distant country, but we come grandfather-after-grandfather, together with the sun in these spaces. We share the fate of this country together with the Macedonian community, and together we will be stronger.” said Mr. Ahmeti.
The European Front, which also includes the wing of the Alliance for Albanians of Mr. Ziadin Sela, assesses that efforts are being made in the country to destroy the peace achieved by the Ohrid Agreement:
“We will defend what is called peace; we will defend what was achieved through the Ohrid Framework Agreement, but at the same time we will act according to one of the main postulates that the Ohrid Agreement has. The Ohrid Agreement was an agreement that was made for the rights, dignity, freedom and equality of citizens”. emphasized Mr. Sela.
The European Front, now with the transition to the opposition, aims to change the state system and follow the model of Belgium, Northern Ireland and Switzerland.
The parties of the European Front led by DUI refused to be part of the anniversary marking of this event organized by the government.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickovski in the past has not emphasized any support for this Agreement, but today he said that things should be looked at with a dose of objectivity and the contribution that the agreement has brought:
“We must be fair and say that the adoption of the Ohrid Framework Agreement at that time did not make any of the signatory parties completely happy, but the agreement brought what was most needed at that time, and that was peace,” he said. he. “From this point of view, this country is the common homeland of all, and common partisanship means building life under the same roof and fighting for a better life under the same sky.” said the Macedonian Prime Minister.
Izet Mejhiti, Deputy Prime Minister of the new Government of North Macedonia, says that this government has the capacity and confidence to maintain peace throughout the country, to raise the standards of citizens and their inclusion and integration.
“It is not only in words but also in action. I want to publicly thank the Prime Minister and the new government that will allocate 1 billion euros to the municipalities, for decentralization, which is a pillar of the Ohrid Agreement”. said Mr. Mejhiti.
The Ohrid Agreement was signed by representatives of the international community, Ambassador James Pardew as the United States envoy and François Leotard, European Union envoy.
Three of the political leaders in North Macedonia involved in the achievement of this peaceful document, Arbën Xhaferi, Imer Imeri and Boris Trajkovski, are no longer alive, while Branko Cervenkovski and Lubço Georgievski are not active in politics.
However, the Albanian political parties in North Macedonia in particular continue to look at the international community as the main guarantor of the realization of the agreement.
