Ethnic minority groups oppose territorial reform

TIRANA, Aug 4 – The recently-approved territorial reform that reshapes the borders of municipalities has gained strong opposition among ethnic minority groups in Albania.
The law passed last week at the parliament’s last session before the start of the summer vacation. It now needs to be signed into law by the country’s president, or it will be turned back to the parliament to be re-voted.
The ethnic Greek minority group association, Omonia, opposes the new law saying this new division violates the rights of the Greek minority in the south of Albania, and that is why, they have asked Vangjel Dule, the head of the ethnic Greek minority Union for Human Rights Party to abandon the governing coalition. Dule also serves as deputy speaker in parliament.
“The reform was not approved respecting democracy. Their proposal does not meet any of OMONIA’s requests for Himara, Lukova and villages like ȵka. Overall in areas where the Greek minority lives, they tend to violate the laws of human rights,” Omonia said in a press release.
The new law was also opposed by the small Macedonian ethnic community in the Prespa Region.
Vasil Sterjovski, General Secretary of Macedonian Alliance for Integration Party, said that the Albanian government violated the rights of the minority, aiming at assimilating Macedonians.
“We will wait for the President’s decision and after that we will ask the Constitutional Court to give its opinion. We are also thinking of organizing some protests,” he said.
The opposition Democrats have also opposed the reform and are waiting for President Bujar Nishani, whom they elected two years ago, to veto the bill, thus delaying its application and likely putting in danger holding of the local elections next year.
But the governing Socialists voted it in the last day of parliament because they waited for the Democrats to take part in the project, which they had given all the equal rights, like co-chairmanship and even the veto to oppose it at the parliamentary commission that prepared the draft law and the new country’s map.
The number of Albania’s local municipalities will be drastically lowered under the reform, from 387 to 61, a move that will spare some $60-80 million a year, which may be invested in new project all over the country, the government says.
Three of the municipalities were preserved for ethnic minorities – two Greek and one Slav Macedonian — which make up less than 5 percent of Albania’s population.