Macedonia court bans display of Albanian flag

Macedonia’s Constitutional Court has decided to ban the use of the Albanian flag in certain locations. It says that legal provisions allowing the use of the Albanian flag outside some public buildings are unconstitutional. Macedonia court bans display of Albanian flag The Court justified its ruling on the grounds that Macedonia’s sovereignty cannot be divided. Macedonia’s Albanian community, which accounts for around 25 per cent of the country’s population, will still be able to fly their flag outside municipal buildings but only on public holidays. Mahmut Jusufi, the President of the Constitutional Court, told Alsat M TV on Wednesday that six out of nine judges had backed the new ruling. Jusufi noted that all three Albanian members, including him, voted against. “I want to mention that for us, this was a political decision by the Court”, he added. Jusufi said that this was the first time the Court had reached a decision without a consensus. The spokesman of the Democratic Party of Albanians, part of the governing coalition, condemned the Court’s decision. Ruzhdi Matoshi blamed the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, and the main Albanian opposition party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI for plotting. “This Constitutional Court is composed of people of the SDSM and the DUI”, he told Balkan Insight on Thursday. “At a time when Macedonia approaches its NATO and EU integration we think that this is an attempt by the SDSM and the DUI to re-open this sensitive inter-ethnic question.” But mayors representing the DUI, which is the largest ethnic Albanian party, have said they will continue to display the Albanian flag in the 14 municipalities where they are in control. The law on the use of flags was adopted in 2005, as part of the follow-up to the Ohrid peace deal that ended a six-month armed conflict between Albanian guerrillas and Macedonian security forces in 2001. Back in 1997 three ethnic Albanians died and scores of people were injured in clashes with police when the authorities tried to remove Albanian flags from the town halls of Tetovo and Gostivar.

Macedonia court bans display of Albanian flag

The Court justified its ruling on the grounds that Macedonia’s sovereignty cannot be divided.

Macedonia’s Albanian community, which accounts for around 25 per cent of the country’s population, will still be able to fly their flag outside municipal buildings but only on public holidays.

Mahmut Jusufi, the President of the Constitutional Court, told Alsat M TV on Wednesday that six out of nine judges had backed the new ruling.

Jusufi noted that all three Albanian members, including him, voted against.

“I want to mention that for us, this was a political decision by the Court”, he added.

Jusufi said that this was the first time the Court had reached a decision without a consensus.

The spokesman of the Democratic Party of Albanians, part of the governing coalition, condemned the Court’s decision.

Ruzhdi Matoshi blamed the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, and the main Albanian opposition party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI for plotting.

“This Constitutional Court is composed of people of the SDSM and the DUI”, he told Balkan Insight on Thursday.

“At a time when Macedonia approaches its NATO and EU integration we think that this is an attempt by the SDSM and the DUI to re-open this sensitive inter-ethnic question.”

But mayors representing the DUI, which is the largest ethnic Albanian party, have said they will continue to display the Albanian flag in the 14 municipalities where they are in control.

The law on the use of flags was adopted in 2005, as part of the follow-up to the Ohrid peace deal that ended a six-month armed conflict between Albanian guerrillas and Macedonian security forces in 2001.

Back in 1997 three ethnic Albanians died and scores of people were injured in clashes with police when the authorities tried to remove Albanian flags from the town halls of Tetovo and Gostivar.