4.0 What Kosovo Represents for the Albanians of Macedonia
4.1 A Shared Identity...
Unlike the Albanians of Albania, the Albanians of Macedonia have long lived in contact with Kosovars in the former Yugoslavia, until the border between the Republic of Macedonia and the Yugoslav Federation separated them. The opening of Tetovė University in December 1994 can be seen in this regard as a response to the breaking off of relations between Macedonia and Kosovo, for up to 1991 most Albanian graduates of Macedonia studied at Prishtinė University.
The closeness of the two populations is also revealed by the number of marriages: many students at Prishtinė University found a spouse during their studies in Kosovo and ended up staying there. Regarding the co-existence of Kosovars and the Albanians of Macedonia, a teacher from Gostivar, close to the PDSH, goes so far as to say: "The current borders of Kosovo, those of 1974, are not sufficient: they leave out Montenegro and Macedonia," as if the place of the Albanians of Macedonia were with the Kosovars.
The Albanians of Macedonia often express an identity peculiar to the region that they occupy and identify more with Kosovo and Prishtinė, the "Albanian capital", than with Albania and Tirana. So much so that when it comes to the reunification of all Albanians, they have to be reminded of the primacy of Tirana. Thus, when the Association of Albanian Publishers was created in Tirana, on 27 and 28 February 1998, a journalist working for an Albanian daily newspaper of Macedonia (close to the PPD) wrote: "The creation of such an association gladdens us all the more because it occurs in the mother state, where, to say the truth, similar undertakings are rare. (...) Finally, the focus of the efforts and commitments for the spiritual union of the Albanians must absolutely be Tirana."10
Since the independence of Macedonia in 1991, the Albanians of Macedonia
tend to establish a parallel between their situation and that of the Kosovars. The
objective of both the Serbs and the Macedonians, they feel, is to get rid of the
Albanians. They recall how, at the time of the police repression against the Albanians of
Gostivar, in July 1997 (see 1.1), some had called for collaboration between the two
governments, the Serb and the Macedonian. Tetovė University functions like the Albanian
university of Prishtinė (many professors teach at both universities), and some Albanian
politicians of Macedonia do not rule out the possibility of resorting to parallel and
underground social and educational structures, according to the model of the Kosovo
Republic, if their demands fail.11
4.2 ...But Not Necessarily Political Identification
Due to the fact that they tend to compare their situation in the Macedonian state with that of the Kosovars in the Serb state, the Albanians of Macedonia have a great deal more to say about the events in Kosovo than do the Albanians of Albania. However not all ethnic Albanians believe that everything that happens in Kosovo foreshadows what could happen in the near future in Macedonia.
The "radical" camp (which does not present itself as radical but as "national") is the PDSH. In its view, the Macedonian state has a future only if the Albanian question is settled in the sense of acknowledging complete equality (in the status of constitutive population, language, teaching, public function) between Albanians and Macedonians. According to this perspective, the situation in Kosovo can be transposed to Macedonia for the problem is the same in both cases: the Albanians are threatened by the greed for power of a Slav population. Consequently, the events in Kosovo directly concern the Albanians of Macedonia.
On the other hand, according to the "moderate" camp, constituted by the PPD (called "governmental" or "traitor" by the radical camp), the Albanian issue in Macedonia can be settled within the framework of the Macedonian state, independently of the situation in Kosovo. The latter must not be used to poison relations between Albanians and Macedonians nor to exert pressure on the Macedonian government. In this sense, the reaction of the Albanians must be limited to national solidarity: the Albanians of Macedonia must support the Kosovars in the name of the "envisaged community", that is, the Albanian nation and not in the name of political identification.
Finally, according to the "apolitical" camp, the Albanian issue in Macedonia is artificial, it was created by politicians in their search for power, and it conceals the actual problem of Macedonia, which is one of economic and social transition. Here, the reactions to the events in Kosovo are conditioned by the fear of political manipulation and by the belief that Slavs and Albanians have lived together in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Last but not least, there is a part of the population, especially young people who have spent some time abroad, that does not consider the "Albanian question" the main problem of the Albanians of Macedonia.
Because of all these divisions and divergent views, the Albanians of Macedonia are not in a position to fully exploit the events in Kosovo, and the political dilemma that they are confronted with is one for which no simple or easy solution can be found.
10
Flaka, 12 March 1998.11
Interview to Rufi Osmani, PDSH Mayor of Gostivar
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