Politically at odds before the 25th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement: DUI will hold its own event
DUI is organizing its own celebration at Aleksandar Palace, the Government has a central program at the Stone Bridge, and some leaders, including Mickoski, will not attend.
A clearly visible split within the Albanian political bloc has emerged ahead of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement: DUI will organize its own commemoration, the Government is preparing a central program in Skopje, and some political leaders will not attend state events.
Different calendars, different celebrations
The Government is marking the jubilee under the motto "25 years and beyond" with an international panel discussion, a ceremonial government session and a cultural event at the Stone Bridge. "Tomorrow, at the international panel discussion there will be three panels on the topics 'The Ohrid Framework Agreement and the path to EU integration', 'The future of the Ohrid Agreement and building a stable peace' and 'Decentralization and local development as pillars of democracy and social strategy'. The copresidents of Vredi, Izet Medzhiti and Bilal Kasami, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Timcho Mucunski, the Minister for Relations between Communities Agon Ferati, then Kostadin Kostadinov, Azis Polozhani and representatives from the OSCE will speak on the panels. On 13 August a ceremonial government session will be held, organised for the third year in a row, at which Vice Prime Ministers Bekim Sali and Aleksandar Nikolovski will address the session. In the evening of 13 August, the central event will be held at the Stone Bridge with modern and classical music" — Venera Ljatifi Azizi, spokeswoman for the Government, told us.
But some invitees will not attend. Vredi is rejecting the invitation, which it assessed as an event organized by Ali Ahmeti, and the leader of VMRO‑DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, announced that he will be on a trip to Belgium and will not be able to attend the ceremonial session.
DUI, under the leadership of Ali Ahmeti, has likewise announced that it will not participate in the Government's central event. "Given that the budget and organization for this event was determined when Ivan Stoilkovic was Minister for Relations between Communities, we do not believe that there will be representatives from DUI at the event" — representatives of Ahmeti's party told us.
Under Ahmeti's patronage, DUI will mark the 25th anniversary at the Aleksandar Palace hotel with a documentary and a panel discussion. "As part of the program a documentary film will be shown featuring the most significant events from 2001 and the process that led to the signing of the Ohrid Agreement. A significant part will be dedicated to the major engagement of the Western world and the international community, which played a key role in mediating and achieving a political and peaceful solution" — DUI said.
"The central part of the program will be the panel discussion, with the participation of prominent figures, protagonists and direct witnesses of the events of 2001. The Ohrid Agreement will be considered not only as a historical event, but also as a lesson for understanding the present and building the future, while analysing why it represented the best peaceful solution to end the 2001 war. Twenty‑five years after 13 August, we remember the history, analyse the present and draw lessons for the future" — DUI added.
The split in the calendars shows that dates of national significance do not automatically guarantee interparty unity: for this anniversary, at least within the Albanian political bloc, the same jubilee will be marked separately.
Photo: Montage
