Albanians celebrate centenary in Macedonia

SKOPJE, Nov. 27 – More than 1,000 ethnic Albanians marched in the capital of Macedonia on Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. The prime ministers of Albania and Kosovo, Sali Berisha and Hashim Thaci, attended the celebrations at Skopje’s sports center. Ethnic Albanians’ tension with the country’s Slavic-speaking Macedonian majority has remained high since a six-month armed ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001 to demand greater autonomy in minority areas.
In Skopje, thousands of Albanian national flags נa black double-headed eagle on a red background طere on display Sunday there and in minority areas of northern and western Macedonia. Divers even placed the flag at the bottom of Lake Ohrid, which straddles Macedonia and Albania.
The opposition Social Democrats earlier described a decision by the Macedonian government to join Albania’s independence celebrations as a “political provocation.” Conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has the country’s largest ethnic Albanian party, the DUI, in his coalition government. Even Gruevski allies have publicly argued that the Albanian celebrations are part of a minority drive toward creating a largely autonomous state נa notion dismissed by DUI’s Ali Ahmeti.
In an interview with Channel Five TV, Ahmeti said, “Raising the Albanian national flag is not a demonstration of power, but part of a great date for us Albanians and … should not be seen as a provocation to the Macedonians.” “We do not have any pretensions to dividing Macedonia because Macedonia is our country, Macedonia is our homeland. Our ancestors were here, our future is here and we need to build our future together.”
Berisha’s words were echoed by Thaci, who said that Albanians in the region, including the minorities in Serbia and Macedonia, were “stronger than ever and should work together.” Thaci vowed that Prishtina “will take care” of ethnic Albanians in both Macedonia and Serbia, recalling their support during Kosovo’s fight for independence from Serbia. Tirana has always been commended for its moderate role in this region, long considered a powder keg and that proved in the first decade after the fall of the communist regimes at the end of last century. Albania’s moderate role has often been the key to attracting western support to this country.
And all Albanians leaders and politicians, including Berisha, have always been highly evaluated for their moderate words and stands.