Ohrid Agreement: Saving Macedonia from Civil War

being the primary claimants to the right to the state, and the members of the nations not even mentioned; specified as 'others'. The primacy of the Macedonians also translated into the superiority of the Macedonian Orthodox Church over other religious communities. In addition, he 1991 Constitution broke with the 1974 Constitution of SFRY by denying Albanians their right to university education in their native language and declared Macedonian written in the Cyrillic alphabet the only official language of the country. Albanians complained of the 'tyranny of the Macedonian majority.'

In 1993, 86 % of Albanians polled considered themselves second-class citizens. The accumulation of ethnic resentment led to the Albanian uprising of 2001, which brought Macedonia to the brink of civil war. The General Framework Ohrid Agreement in 2001 put an end to the armed conflict and transformed the inter-ethnic political framework by effectively turning Macedonia into a multy-national entity. The Agreement addressed all of the Albanian political parties demands (reform of the Constitution, greater representation of Albanians in the civil service sector, provision of university education in the Albanian language, and the decentralization of state power).

The first task of the Agreement was to rectify the legal status of minorities transforming Macedonia from a mono-ethnic to a civic state.It called for an ethnically neutral and liberal Constitution, thereby eliminating all references to specific ethnic groups. The first agreed amendment of the Preamble began with 'The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,…', but later on the deputies from the Macedonian parties argued that they could not accept it. The original formula agreed in Ohrid was discarded, and the following amendment began with 'The citizens of the Republic of

Macedonia, the Macedonian people, as well as the citizens living within its borders…'. This Preamble remains problematic, but it was accepted.

However, the Ohrid process also recognized Albanian as an official language on the national level, exept in the country's international relations. The law on local self-government stipulates that if an ethnic community number more than 20 % in the total population within the municipality, its language and alphabet become official. This provision has also allowed Turkish, Serbian and Roma to become official languages in certain municipalities. Moreover, the law allows non-majority languages to be declared 'official' by a municipality decision. The Agreement also provides a veto power to minorities in the election of a third of the judges of the Constitutional Court, the members of the Republican Judicial Council and the Ombudsman. Equitable Representation in the State Administration and Decentralization Despite the Macedonian government's efforts to increase Albanian representation in the 1990s, it still remained utterly disproportionate.

The police and the armed forces stood out as particularly unequal, and that has just heightened tensions as Macedonians predominated in law enforcement.This sometimes took the form of inter-ethnic abuse, especially in areas where Albanians dominated in numbers. Albanian representation in the state administration and public companies was equally disproportionate. But as a result of the Ohrid Agreement, as of December 2004, the Police had increased the Albanian proportion from 3 % to 13 %.

There has also been an increase in Albanian representation in both central and local administration reaching 12 % (before 2 %). The Issue of Decentralization Pre-Ohrid Macedonia was possibly the most centralized state in Europe.After the debate on the Preamble, the decentralization issue was heated

to the point that it almost derailed the whole Ohrid process. The decentralization package of laws proved difficult for the majority, as it was perceived as threatening to its national identity.

25 out of 80 created municipalities would have Albanian as an official language; the issue became emotional for the Macedonians. The crisis mounted as the opposition parties, led by VMRO-DPMNE and the anti-reform movements, gathered 300. 000 signatures and imposed a referendum that threatened to negate the Ohrid process, thus increasing the possibilities for ethnic strife.But the referendum failed because of the international pressure and the Bush Administration's decision to recognize Macedonia by its constitutional name, sending a signal that the international community would reward efforts aimed at the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement.

The Issue of Education Many Macedonian Albanians educated themselves in nearby Prishtina University during the socialist period, but this right was curtailed in independent Macedonia as Prishtina University was shut down by the Milosevic regime.In 1994, the Albanian intelligentsia established Tetovo University, but the government reacted by declaring this institution illegal. Here it should be noted that the refusal to allow university education in Albanian was not the decision of the elite; opposition was strong on the grassroots level as demonstrated by the strong outcry of the Macedonian students and intellectuals. In 1998, the VMRO-DPMNE and DPA coalition reached a compromise.

The political deal established a private trilingual (English, Maedonian, Albanian) university in Tetovo funded by the international community and tuition fees.But still there was a problem: Albanian students had to pay university tuition to educate themselves in their native language, which was not the case for most of the Macedonian students. The

Ohrid Agreement calls explicitly for reforms in this issue, by stipulating that 'state funding will be provided for university level education in languages spoken by at least 20 % of the population of Macedonia, on the basis of specific agreements. ' So Tetovo University was legalized in September 2004 and started to get funding from the state budget. The Ohrid process opened the way for better access to education not only for the Albanians but also for other communities. Five Years After Ohrid: Beyond Ethnicity? The findings by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Early Warning Report published in MArch 2006 portray a mixed picture.

The report registers a gradual improvement of inter-ethnic relations, while on the other hand it takes not of the general disappointment of Macedonians, which is a result of their win-lose perception of the Ohrid Agreement.Macedonian support for the Ohrid Agreement is still low at 11 %. But the Macedonia's EU membership aspirations are a crucial factor in the inter-ethnic equation. EU conditionality has become a strong democratizing force in Macedonian politics.

The Ohrid process faces many challenges, but it is a living document; a framework for harmonious inter-ethnic relationships that in course of time will address outstanding issues in a peaceful and democratic manner.

Analysis

I think that post-Ohrid Macedonia has achieved significant improvements for the status of Albanians. It has laid the groundwork for achieving equality among its citizens of various ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Hovewer, Ohrid's main challenge will be to withstand the test of time proving that it is a viable framework that can effectively solve problems in an institutional and peaceful manner. While the Ohrid negotiations were a Macedonian-Albanian affair under

international supervision, less numerous minorities like Turks, Serbs, Roma, Vlachs etc. ave benefited from the Ohrid process as well. Yet, I think that more needs to be done regarding Turkish and Roma representation. A centralized governance in a multi-ethnic society fuels political frustration and resentment among minorities as decisions on important community issues are made by the central institutions controlled by the majority. Political decentralization will simply recreate spheres of political dominance by one group or the other, and in that way creating new possible areas for a conflict.

Despite initial difficulties, the Macedonian decentralization model proves that power can be shared effectiveli in a multi-ethnic environment without causing fear of territorial solutions or secession. Public education can play a strong role in bringing the ethnic communities together. Primary and secondary school curricula do not teach Macedonian students about Albanian history, culture and literature. The segregated nature of public education has also minimized interaction between communities, leading to divergent interpretations of the country's 2001 conflict.Language is the main impediment to bridging the gap between the Macedonian and Albanian ethnic groups.

The tendency of Macedonians not to learn Albanian, especially those living in Albanian majority areas, creates inter-ethnic communication problems. But the resentment is evident also among ethnic Albanians; learning the language of 'the other' is concidered as an act of weakness, of surrendering to the 'stronger' group and yielding to the imposition of its will and culture. Language is not perceived as a means of communication but rather in terms of differentiation and separation.The equitable representation principle has been applied in appointing Ambassadors abrouad. For example, a national coordinator for NATO has been an Albanian and an

Albanian represents Macedonia to the EU.

After the analysis of the article I do not completely agree with the hypothesis I talked about in the introduction. Macedonian democracy and the stability of the political system are very vulnerable and they require regular basis to promote and monitor the international community's political representatives of both ethnic groups.In the process of formation and implementation of the Ohrid Agreement the international community fulfilled the requirements of the Albanians at the expense of the majority ethnic community in Macedonia. An image of stability of political system and the implementation of democratic processes in Macedonia illustrate the parliamentary elections in 2006.

Conclusion

The structural causes of ethnic conflict in Macedonia, industrial decline and rural underdevelopment, have not been successfully addressed.A clear European perspective could make a crucial contribution to help Macedonia to address these challenges. The 95 % of the provisions of the Ohrid Agreement were not implemented in practice. Political-legal status of Albanians in Macedonia has been completed, but I think the conflict is frozen. Macedonia is, compared with the more widely region, a leader in the stimulating of ethnic minority rights.

The country is a multiethnic democracy and, in my opinion, proud of it. During the period of implementation of the Ohrid Agreement changes have started to happen, but fundamental problems remain.The agreement is a plan from the international community to establish peace as quickly as possible at the expense of the ethnically marked increase in the powers of municipal authorities. Instead of falling into the instability that has plagued so much of the recent history of the Balkans, this country moved in the direction of stability.