No law on languages – no Government

Misunderstandings between government partners DUI and SDSM day only deepen with each passing. Government sources inform that Ali Ahmeti’s party does not give in and the law on the use of languages ​​is considered a done deal. On the other hand, the Social Democrats demand time to try to agree through dialogue with VMRO-DPMNE, which, however, remains firmly in the view that it does not withdraw its 35,000 amendments.

Ali Ahmeti and his party have warned Prime Minister Zoran Zaev that without a law agreement on the Albanian language, there will be no government coalition, or government for that matter. Although it was expected, sources close to DUI claim that their leader Ali Ahmeti does not intend to sit at the table with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and discuss the law on languages ​​because they consider it a done deal. DUI told Zaev to meet with Hristijan Mickovski instead of Ahmeti, and to discuss the amendments of VMRO-DPMNE.

“The Law on Languages ​​is a closed issue for DUI in the course of the establishment of the Government. This law is the pillar of the government coalition. The law will be adopted very soon, with the support of the SDSM, in a form that has already been passed in the Parliament, because it is agreed with the Zaev party in forming the Government. There is no change in our positions, that is, there will be no pending amendment to the law,” said a senior DUI official. . The same source denies that this law is a brake on the work of parliament and that the real culprit who brakes the vote on key reforms requiring at least 80% of votes should be sought in the ranks of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE.

The last statement by Speaker of the Parliament, Talat Xhaferi, and the counter-statement of Prime Minister Zaev shows that there is an internal crisis between SDSM and DUI. Xhaferi argued that due to the hesitation of several Social Democrat MPs whether to vote for the law or not, he was forced to postpone the session for an indefinite period, replacing Zaev with the assertion that all members of his party are ready to vote the law of languages.
But is the Democratic Union of Albanians right to continue insisting that the law on languages ​​be adopted now? A section of political analysts for “Nezavisen/Independent” agree that the Euro-Atlantic process, as well as the citizens themselves, are hostages to political parties and their leaders.

Analyst Kenan Aliu, apart from criticizing DUI’s political action, predicts that the problem with the law on languages ​​will be resolved after the holding of early parliamentary election, which, according to him, will be held along the presidential election next year.

“It is a fact that the citizens of Macedonia and the Euro-Atlantic process are hostages to the political parties, in particular the political establishment, which is deep into crime and corruption. As for the the law on languages, it is obvious that this situation has shown that something does not work among the coalition partners. This is not due to the text that has already been passed, but because of the way it should be acted after President Gjorge Ivanov refused to put his signature, and VMRO filed thousands of amendments. DUI is not in a position to be stubborn because she herself is guilty of adopting Article 173 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, which provides for a text of a law that is rejected by the President to submit amendments. My opinion is that the law on languages ​​will be relevant to the new early parliamentary elections, no matter when they are held. And let’s not forget that what is happening is in synchronization between SDSM and VMRO, while DUI prefers less noise for the law, or more silence. DUI, due to the pressure from the international factor, cannot leave the coalition, but its stubbornness can lead to a new expanded coalition with VMRO-DPMNE and other Albanian parties. This situation will go on until the next parliamentary election that will be held next year with a presidential vote,” Aliu said.

The owner of the newspaper “Lajm”, Fejzi Hajdari, has a similar opinion. According to him, all political incidents and crises passed through Macedonia and citizens in the past period are artificially created by political parties.

“The parties artificially raise ethnic tensions in order to distract the people from the real problems. The law on the use of languages ​​(not on the Albanian language, as claimed by DUI) along with the changes could have been voted much earlier.

The reason why this is delayed is already widely known. This strategy promoted by Ahmeti and Gruevski in Macedonia (or between Musa Xhaferi and Mijalkov) proved to be very poor and bad. In short, I do not think it’s time to play such games now. Addressing the name dispute, which should be a priority for Macedonia, it should be a priority for the entire region as it will reflect stability towards all regional countries. DUI has been helping VMRO-DPMNE for ten years, but it’s amazing that even today, although in coalition with SDSM, it still helps VMRO and it looks like their “marriage” still exists. If indeed DUI wanted to make the Albanian language official, it would have done it in 2002,” said Hajdari.

Now, they wait for the one week given by Speaker Xhaferi to pass, to let the political parties calm down, to open up the opportunity to sit down on the table and find a common language for the law on languages, and then unblock the work of the Parliament, and pass the other laws necessary for the reforms.