Macedonian Political Party In Albania

Good for the Macedonians in Albania.

Balkanalysis.com Rapid Reactions: Rights of Macedonians in Albania Finally Addressed with New Political Party:

The tables haven't exactly turned, but only 4 years after the Albanians in Macedonia started a war allegedly for 'human rights,' the small Macedonian minority in Albania, centered around the area of Lakes Ohrid and Prespa, has finally won the right to form a political party. MIA reports:

'...The first Macedonian party has been registered Wednesday in Albania named - 'Macedonian Alliance for European Integration.'

Eftim Mitrevski, President of the Macedonian community in Albania, in the interview with Macedonian Television said that the registration in the Tirana Court passed without any problems. 'The court had finally made a positive decision,' he said.

The first steps of the party, as Mitrevski said, were organizational strengthening in all three areas where Macedonians in Albania live - Golo Brdo, Gora and Prespa.

He said that the first party of Macedonians will provide a positive contribution to successful resolution of problems encountered by Macedonians in Albania, and it will also encourage the democratic processes in the country.'

The Greeks have long used the apparent presence of a 'Greek minority' in Albania as a trump card to counterbalance Albanian claims of injustices against their own citizens living in Greece. Macedonia has never been able to do the same, in part because their power of persuasion and international influence are pitiful compared to the Hellenes, and partly because their minority in Albania is smaller (5,000 according to the authorities, up to 350,000 according to the Macedonians) and pacifistic in comparison to the approximately 700,000 Albanians living in Macedonia.

In general, however, Albania has been much more charitable towards its Macedonian minority than has Greece. The Florina-based group Rainbow continues to push for the Macedonian cause in Greece,which continues to ban the return of most of the 'Begaltsi,' Macedonians expelled from Greek Macedonia during the bloody civil war of 1945-48.

For a comprehensive account of this conflict, we recommend Andre Gerolymatos' Red Acropolis, Black Terror: The Greek Civil War and the Origins of Soviet-American Rivalry, 1943-1949. We will be reviewing this book later in the summer, and would like to remind readers that by buying your books via the Amazon links and search boxes on the site you are not only enjoying fascinating books, you are also directly contributing to the survival of Balkanalysis.com in a difficult time for independent media.

Here is a list of other books we have reviewed that will be of interest.

posted by Balkanalysis Blog Editor @ 6/9/2005 11:37:00 AM"