TIRANA, April 14 – Democratic Union for Integration leader Ali Ahmeti warned at the Diaspora Summit in Tirana that the status of the Albanian language in North Macedonia faces growing risks. He urged institutions and society to defend existing rights with determination.
His remarks came in the wake of student protests in Skopje, where Albanian students demanded the right to sit the bar exam in their native language. They said the constitution guarantees this right, yet authorities fail to apply it in practice.
During his address, Ahmeti turned to the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which ended the 2001 conflict and set the basis for interethnic balance. He said the United States, the European Union, and NATO supported the deal, while all parties accepted and implemented its provisions over time.
He then highlighted key gains secured through the agreement, including education in Albanian, its use in public administration, and recognition of national symbols. In addition, he pointed to the law that grants Albanian official status in areas where speakers exceed 20 percent of the population.
However, Ahmeti warned that public debates that question these rights aim to weaken the agreement itself. He argued that such efforts risk changing its core principles and long-term balance.
He also stressed that responsibility for safeguarding the agreement remains shared. In his view, North Macedonia’s stability depends on coexistence and joint governance with Albanians.
Without that balance, he warned, the country faces an uncertain future. Meanwhile, student protests continue to highlight the gap between legal guarantees and their implementation on the ground.
/a.p./
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