The former Ambassador of Albania, Bashkim Rama, sees the situation in Macedonia as a consequence of the Ochrid agreement.
13 years after this act was signed and Albanians were sanctioned in the Constitution of this country as a state-forming part of Macedonia, their rights have not been implemented according to the commitment taken through international intermediation.
“The Ochrid Agreement was fine on paper, but many of its elements remain on paper. What failed is the efforts of the Macedonian society for integration of Albanians after 13 years. The local governments, the Albanian communes… it is very difficult going against the majority in Albanian communes. There is a huge difference between investments in Macedonian and Albanian areas. Employment is in its lowest rate. It is difficult to find Albanians involved in the privatization processes. There is also the problem of language, the usage of symbols, etc”, says diplomat Rama.
The Albanian diplomat says that the trial known as the “Monster Case” is not the real source of these protests, but just a consequence.
“The Macedonian authorities must be appealed to see reality in the eye. They should not try to give religious colors to their likings, or compare it with the Macedonian minorities in Albania. It is unthinkable that a group of Macedonians will ever be sentenced through a trial without argued facts, and you cannot compare the Macedonian minority in Albania with a 30% of the population in Macedonia that is made of Albanians”, Rama declared.
For the former Ambassador, there is a lack of symmetry in the reaction of the party led by Nikolla Gruevski when responding to the declarations of the Albanian Prime Minister. There is no reason to consider the protests of the Macedonian Albanians as against the rule of law, since they are more interested than anyone to integrate the country in the Euro-Atlantic structures.
The first step for stopping any possible escalation of the situation, according to him, is stopping violence from all parties.
“Many points that have not been implemented from the Ochrid agreement need to be resolvd as soon as possible, and the treatment of Albanians as an important part of the Macedonain society”, he concluded./to channel/