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Visit to the First Teacher's Museum/ Taravari: The Albanian language does not have equal treatment with Macedonian

2025-08-08 12:46:00, Qyteti im CNA

Visit to the First Teacher's Museum/ Taravari: The Albanian language does

The President of the Alliance for Albanians, Arben Taravari, accompanied by four candidates for mayor in North Macedonia, visited today the Museum of the First Albanian Teacher in the city of Korça. The visit, with symbolic and historical values, served as a point of reflection on the role and status of the Albanian language in the institutional and public life of North Macedonia.

After the visit, Taravari gave a statement to the media, where he brought to attention the journey and challenges of the Albanian language in the neighboring country, emphasizing that despite the progress made over the years, it still does not enjoy equal treatment with the Macedonian language.

" Since 1974, the Albanian language has been an official language in North Macedonia. After the declaration of Independence of Macedonia in 1991, the Albanian language is used but is not an official language and after the Ohrid Agreement in 2001, laws have been passed several times for the use of the Albanian language, so in territories where over 20% Albanians live, the Albanian language is officially used. The last law was in 2017 where there is widespread use of the Albanian language but unfortunately the implementation is not as it should be. The Albanian language is not equal to the Macedonian language as it was in the 1974 constitution when Macedonia was a Socialist Republic ," said Taravari.

He stressed that an important step towards advancing the linguistic rights of Albanians was the 2001 Ohrid Agreement, which paved the way for the official use of the Albanian language in areas where Albanians constitute over 20% of the population. Subsequently, the 2017 law further expands this right.

However, according to Taravari, the implementation of these laws remains problematic. Taravari demands that Albanian not be treated as “the language of 20% of the population,” but as an official language equal to Macedonian, a status it had in the past, during the socialist system.

" We can say that the Albanian language is defined as the language of 20% of the population that we think should be removed and we should restore what it was during the time of the former Yugoslavia or during the time of socialism in Macedonia and the official languages in North Macedonia should be Albanian and Macedonian as the languages of the two ethnicities that are 90% of Macedonia. There are institutions that should use it and overlook or ignore the use of the Albanian language ," he said.

According to Taravari, the lack of implementation of laws is the fundamental problem and bigger than their content itself. He criticized institutions that, although obliged by law, do not use the Albanian language. Taravari announced that there is currently an initiative in the Constitutional Court related to this issue, and expressed hope for an objective and fair decision.

" There is an initiative in the Constitutional Court and I believe that it will bring an objective and rational decision, because if it brings another decision it would not be good for society in general. In North Macedonia, stability and instability are brought by the two main peoples, of great importance is the internal cohesion between these two ethnicities ," declared the head of the Alliance for Albanians.

The visit to the Museum of the First Albanian Teacher was not simply a symbolic stop, but a call for reflection on the linguistic rights of Albanians in North Macedonia.

Between the words of historical memory and current reality, Taravari demands not only the formal recognition of Albanian as an official language, but also its real and equal implementation in every institution. Because for a sustainable coexistence, linguistic equality is not only necessary, but essential.

" Macedonia is far from instability, we have fantastic laws but we ignore them. In institutions where we have Albanians, these laws are implemented, while in those where Macedonians are in charge, they take the position of minister, deputy minister and this is not right. Although there is a special agency that deals with the use of the Albanian language and institutions where it should be used should be punished, unfortunately this agency does not function properly ," Taravari said./ CNA