The Stakeholders’ Position:
Macedonian association "Ilinden"-Tirana and Macedonian association "Ilinden"- Branch Golo Brdo account that the effects of the territorial and administrative reform in 2014, which led to the dissolution of the Municipalities of Golo Brdo and Gora were far from positive for the Macedonian national minority. Not only the living conditions have not improved but more administrative complications have arisen. In the light of Law 96/2017, providing that a community that constitutes 20% or more of the local population in a municipality is entitled to specific rights with regard to the use of their language, education, and participation in the public and political life of the region, the merging of the Macedonians into different municipalities and disregarding the opinion and the claims of the affected population is an infringement the rights of the national minority. Therefore, the Macedonian minority of Golo Brdo and Gora districts sees the merger of municipalities and the disregarding of the voices of the affected population as a step back in respect of the implementation of minority rights in Albania.
The Macedonian national minority in the Republic of Albania, recognised as such already in the years 1945-1948, lives mainly in the district of Korça (Municipality Pustec), in Devoll (town Vërnik), in the cities of Korça, Pogradec, Bilisht, Tirana, Durrës, Bilisht, Kukës, Librazhd, and in the area Golloborda (Peshkopia) and Gora (Kukës). For years, the population of these regions has been able to use its mother tongue in public and private life, including in education, to preserve its traditions and culture, and to be represented in the local government.[1] Since 1998, their rights have been guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, [2] with Article 20, stipulating that:
The merge of the municipalities with a clear minority demographic profile with others, where the Albanian ethnic population prevails was therefore a clear act of gerrymandering and infringement of the rights of the Macedonian minority.
Macedonian association "Ilinden"-Tirana and Macedonian association "Ilinden"- Branch Golo Brdo, therefore, call to the Government of the Republic of Albania, the Minister of Local Self Government, and the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination to:
* Take into consideration and addresses the recommendations provided by the FCNM Advisory Committee Opinion (4th monitoring cycle)
* Adhere to the CoE 12 Principles of Good Governance and treat cultural diversity as an asset, making efforts to ensure that all people have a stake in the local community, identify with it, and do not feel excluded (Principle 11)[3]
* Re-establish the Municipality of Golo Brdo and the Municipality of Gora, which were dissolved with no respect to the impact on the ethnic composition and the change in the proportions of the population and disregarding the opinion and the protests of the Macedonian national minority, residing in the regions.
* Develop and implement a strategic plan for advancing the economic situation and improving the living conditions of the population in the regions of Golo Brdo and Gora, where for the last five years nothing has happened in this direction
* Re-establish the access of the Macedonian minority of Golo Brdo and Gora regions to participation in the decision-making process and political life at the local level
* Enable the Macedonian national minority of the affected territories to fully enjoy the rights provided by Law 96/2017, in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Albania (Article 20), and the provisions of the international instruments, ratified by the Albanian government: the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities (FCNM)[4] and the European Charter of Local Self-Government,[5] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[6]
Historical Context
The implementation of the administrative and territorial reform in Albania, aiming at the reorganisation of local governmental units (LGU) started in 2013. On July 31 2014, the Parliament approved law 115/2014 “On the territorial and administrative division of local government units in the Republic of Albania” reducing the number of LGUs from 384 to 61 municipalities. This law entered into force after local elections held in June 2015, and since then the local government in Albania operates through 61 municipalities, which have assumed the responsibilities and challenges of managing local public matters.
The reform aimed[7] at strengthening democratic governance in the territory and encouraging economic efficiency through enabling integrated planning in a more consolidated administrative space. The relatively high number and small size of most local government units coupled with concerns about efficiency and quality of service provision have increasingly been considered a serious obstacle to local governance and development and emerged in national policy debates since early 2003. It was based on the internationally approved technical criteria, corresponding to the Albanian legal framework[8]:
In the case of the Municipalities of Golo Brdo and Gora however, the reform was enacted with no consultations being held with the local population and with no respect to the impact on the minority communities residing in these territories.[9] The new territorial arrangements divided the Macedonian villages across different municipalities and changed the proportion of the Macedonian minority as a part of the local population.
“The party of Macedonian Alliance for European Integration”, which was supportive of the idea of reform in the interest of all citizens of Albania, including the national minorities, made a public statement declaring disapproval of the new map of the 61 administrative-territorial units, adopted by the Parliamentary Committee of Territorial Reform. Before the start of the implementation of the reform, a number of claims and suggestions have been filed to the Albanian government, but none of these was taken into account, which eventually resulted in the infringement of the minorities' rights. “We are loyal citizens of the Albanian Republic, with total compliance with the Albanian Constitution and the laws of the state. In this case, we are asking the responsible institutes to take into consideration our proposal for the District of Peshkopia, we ask for the unification of the Steblevë municipalities, Trebishte and Ostreni in the Golo Brdo region, and the creation of Golo Brdo municipality. As well in Kukës district, we ask for the unification of Shishteec, Topojan, and Zapot and creation of Gora municipality”- said Vasil Sterjovski, General Secretary of Macedonian Alliance for European Integration. Sustaining the appeal to Law 115/2014, the Albanian Association of Municipalities and the Democratic Party of Albania have also been defending the minority claim Regardless of the continued attempts of the Macedonian minority in Albania to make the government hear their voices and address their claims, supported by the FCNM Advisory committee[10] and by a number of FUEN Resolutions,[11] eight years after the implementation of the reform the voice of the stakeholders is still not heard.
Is there a way forward?
Article 16 of Law 96/2017 on Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Albania stipulates: It is forbidden to take measures that change the composition of the population in local self-government units inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, with a view to limiting the rights provided by this law. [12] Technically speaking, the 2015 territorial reform in Albania has not violated the rights of minorities directly. But ignoring the factual situation, disregarding the fact that merging these municipalities in new territorial structures with a dominant Albanian ethnic population, and ignoring the protests and the claims of the stakeholders was a breach of the provisions of the above-cited international documents that the Albanian government has adopted and ratified with the aim to protect the rights of the national minorities in the state.
Having in mind that Law 96/2017 provides the Council of Ministers of Albania with significant powers to regulate the implementation of its provisions, the way forward is a constructive dialogue between the Albanian government and the minority stakeholders and possibilities of improvement of the situation of the minority community of the districts of Golo Brdo and Gora are discussed and agreed.
Macedonian association "Ilinden"-Tirana and Macedonian association "Ilinden"- Branch Golo Brdo, therefore, invite the Government of Albania to open a structured dialogue and to find a solution to the situation, which is currently infringing the rights of the citizens of Albania, belonging to the Macedonian national minority.
REFERENCES
Legal frameworks:
Constitution of the Republic of Albania
Law 96/2017 “On the territorial and administrative division of local government units in the Republic of Albania”, 2014
Article 63 of Law no. 8652, dated 31/07/2000 “On the organisation and functioning of local government in Albania”:
Council of Europe Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities
Council of Europe European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
European Charter of Local Self-Government (ETS No. 122)
UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – OHCHR
Opinions in Recommendations of FUEN
Resolution 2016 - 02, adopted at the FUEN Assembly of Delegates 2016 https://www.fuen.org/fileadmin/user_upload/congress_2016/Resolution_2016-02_EN.pdf
Resolution 2017 - 01, adopted at the FUEN Assembly of Delegates 2017https://www.fuen.org/fileadmin/user_upload/congress_2017/2017_FUEN_Resolutions_All_EN.pdf
Resolution 2018 - 01, adopted at the FUEN Assembly of Delegates 2018 https://www.fuen.org/fileadmin/user_upload/congress_2018/FUEN_Resolutions_2018.pdf
The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Strasbourg, February 1995, https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016800c10cf
Advisory Committee On The Framework Convention For The Protection Of National Minorities, Fourth Opinion on Albania - adopted on 11 October 2018, link: https://rm.coe.int/4th-op-albania-en-/168093903b
Public commenaries on the case
https://english.kurir.mk/?p=36562
https://vesnik-ilinden.com/albanskata-opozitsija-bara-nova-teritorijalna-podelba-vo-albanija/
https://ilinden-tirana.com/29052015/
https://ilinden-tirana.com/qq-6/
https://ilinden-tirana.com/prestavnikot-na-makedonskot-malczist/
https://ilinden-tirana.com/makedonsko-drushtvo-ilinden-tiran-18/
https://ilinden-tirana.com/makedonsko-drushtvo-ilinden-tiran-59/
https://www.fuen.org/assets/upload/editor/FUEN_Resolutions_2018.pdf
[1] Republic of Albania Ombudsman Special Report On Minority Rights In Albania, Tirana, December 2014, https://www.avokatipopullit.gov.al/media/manager/website/reports/SPECIAL%20REPORT%20ON%20MINORITY%20RIGHTS.pdf, p.11-12
[1] Republic of Albania Ombudsman Special Report On Minority Rights In Albania, Tirana, December 2014, https://www.avokatipopullit.gov.al/media/manager/website/reports/SPECIAL%20REPORT%20ON%20MINORITY%20RIGHTS.pdf, p.11-12
[2] Constitution of the Republic of Albania, https://www.osce.org/albania/41888
[3] Council of Europe 12 Principles of Good Governance, https://www.coe.int/en/web/good-governance/12-principles#{%2225565951%22:[10]}
[4] Council of Europe Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities, https://www.coe.int/en/web/minorities/home
[5] Council of Europe European Charter of Local Self-Government, https://rm.coe.int/168007a088
[6] UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – OHCHR, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights
[7] https://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/projects/democratic_governance/consolidation-of-territorial-and-administrative-reform---star-2-.html
[8] Administrative and territorial reform: Technical Criteria for the New Administrative and Territorial Division, Minister of State for Local Government, April 2014, https://info.undp.org/docs/pdc/Documents/ALB/Technical%20Criteria%20for%20the%20New%20Administrative-Territorial%20Division.pdf
[9] Advisory Committee On The Framework Convention For The Protection Of National Minorities, 4th Opinion on Albania, https://rm.coe.int/4th-op-albania-en-/168093903b
[10] ibid
[11] FUEN Resolutions, https://fuen.org/en/article/Congress-resolutions
[12] Law on Protection of National Minorities in Albania, https://rm.coe.int/law-on-protection-of-national-minorities-in-albania-english/1680a0c256
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