[NYC-L] Re: [Alb-Club] People please

[Besnik]

Dear Dorin,

I generally like your postings and believe that you are trying to be very objective when putting your arguments forward, I commend you for this. It is because of this that I am responding to your posting, which I think is generally correct with the exception of the following.

"...In spite of this, I don't believe there is deliberate, malevolent persecution of Albanians in Macedonia (like it used to be in Kosova). It is more a case of nepotism: in a poor country, people tend to take care first of their relatives and friends..."

This is not as simple as you are portraying it here. Your statement is true to a degree, but you can not rule out completely the deliberate persecution. The reasons behind this deliberate and coordinated persecuting against Albanians I believe is the result of deeply rooted albanofobia. Add to this the racism (most Macedonians believe that they are better nation than Albanians, sentiment shared with the Serbs) and it explains a lot in official Macedonian behaviour towards Albanians.

To illustrate what am I saying I will ask anyone to recall the treatment Kosovar Albanian refugees received from the Macedonian border guards and the police. 

However having been, albeit very briefly, to Macedonia couple of times last year, I must say that Macedonians have moved in positive direction in their attitude towards Albanians. But the speed and the breadth of this movement is obviously not satisfactorily for Albanians who live in Macedonia. And who can be a better judge of this than the Albanians who live daily under that regime.

While your above paragraph can be a matter of opinion, that can not be said for the following one, which is what really prompted me to reply.

"...In fact, I am sure that the Macedonians will end up granting the Albanians their legitimate, minority rights, and Macedonia will prosper..."

If you have followed what is going on in Macedonia, you should have noticed that this is one of the crucial elements of Albanians discontent. They are not a minority in Macedonia, when an ethnic group constitutes over 30% of the population it is not a minority any more. That is why they are asking that Macedonian constitution should be change to state that Macedonia is a state of all its citizens and not only Macedonian speaking population. 

Albanians is Macedonia are not asking for a minority rights, they are asking for the rights that every Macedonian citizen is entitled to. 

I do not wish to elaborate any further because I believe that you understand most of the issues, I just wanted to draw your attention to this very important oversight.

best regards

Besnik





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