Mexhiti and Kurti Comment on Albanian Language Issue

After Monday’s North Macedonia-Kosovo joint governmental session, first Deputy PM Izet Mexhiti said that there was no law on the Albanian language in North Macedonia for one to be able to say that it was being abolished. A separate law on equitable representation of ethnic Albanians in the country is being prepared, he said.

“First, I will refer to the answer from Kosovan PM Albin Kurti, who said there was no Albanian language law in Macedonia and it was now being abolished or violated. Second, it is not being challenged by the Republic of North Macedonia’s Government, but rather there is an initiative within the Constitutional Court where the nine Judges, elected by the SDSM-DUI government, with a mandate from the previous majority, are the ones causing the problem.

We guarantee that Albanian will progress, just like we found a solution in terms of the formation, by the partners within the government, of the expert group working on the Balancer tool, which was just a mechanism, while now, it is taking on dimensions of a law, that is, a separate law on proper representation of Albanians in Macedonia,” Mexhiti underlined.

Asked what his party would do if the Court challenged Albanian, he stated that the institution had asked for an opinion from the Venice Commission, from which it had received remarks over three articles of the Law on the Use of Languages. Previously, Kurti had also said that one should wait for the Court’s decision, adding that, in his view, the institution would respect the multilingual character in the country and not engage in exclusion and discrimination.

He added that though Serbs constituted 4% of the population in Kosovo, Serbian was an official language.

“However, regarding North Macedonia, one cannot say that Albanian is an official language that is now under threat. That is not true,” the Kosovan PM underlined.

Mexhiti’s stand is that ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and the rest of the world shouldn’t get upset because acquired rights cannot be downgraded and will be in fact upgraded.