Tirana condemns ethnic violence in Macedonia

TIRANA, March 14 – Tirana strongly condemned the violence against the ethnic Albanian community in Macedonia and urged a full investigation by the Macedonian authorities.
“Such events, which put the harmony and coexistence of Macedonia in jeopardy, must be transcended with tranquility and maturity from the Albanians and from all other ethnicities there,” said a Foreign Ministry statement issued last week.
The situation in Macedonia calmed down in mid-week while the European Parliament debated a report on the country’s progress towards EU membership, after a flare-up of tensions in recent weeks between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians.
There was widespread concern about the ethnic violence that hit Skopje and other places in Macedonia, a few weeks after an incident in the north-western town of Gostivar in which a Macedonian police officer shot and killed two young ethnic Albanian men.
In early March, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski offered his condolences on the deaths. But around the same time, protests in Gostivar, where – according to Macedonia’s 2002 census – the population is close to half ethnic Albanian, ended in violence and serious damage to property.
By March 9, there had been a series of attacks on buses and in the streets involving clashes between Macedonians and ethnic Albanian youth. This was followed by further violence over the weekend. Macedonia’s leaders responded with a large number of arrests and calls for calm.
On March 11, Macedonian president Gjorge Ivanov said: “I urge everyone to act responsibly, and if I think necessary, I will convene the Security Council”.
On March 12, Prime Minister Gruevski Gruevski called for peaceful coexistence.
He called on political leaders not to try to take advantage of the situation and urged them not to use the language of hatred. On March 12, a spokesman for the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner, Peter Stano, said he “deeply regretted” the beatings and warned against possible “emotional consequences”, the BBC reported.
The episodes after Gostivar have raised concerns about ethnic tensions in the country in which a reported 25 percent of the population is ethnic Albanian.
Macedonia nearly slid into civil war in 2001, when rebels demanding greater rights for the ethnic Albanian minority launched an uprising against the Skopje authorities.
Further conflict was averted by the Ohrid peace agreement, which guaranteed ethnic Albanians greater recognition, but tensions have continued to simmer.