Macedonia: Situation of ethnic Albanians, including the members of such organizations as the "Black Eagles" and the PDP; the treatment of their members by the authorities from 1993 to October 1999

For information on the situation of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia in 1998 and 1999, please refer to MCD32944 of 15 October 1999. On the earlier situation of ethnic Albanians, a 25 December 1995 report entitled Albanians in Macedonia prepared within the framework of the Minorities at Risk Project sponsored by the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, states that:

Through 1989 to 1991 …there were encouraging signs that both ethnic Albanians and ethnic Macedonians desired not to repeat the civil turmoil that engrossed much of the former Yugoslav Federation. The impressive gains ethnic Albanian made in the 1990 elections, the creation of a non­partisan ruling cabinet in March 1991, and the creation of a coalition government which included the participation of the PDP-NDP all were encouraging signs. The planned hiring of an Albanian faculty at Skopje University, the use of Albanian for some official documents, and other compromises apparently showed that ethnic Albanian demands could be met by working within the Macedonian government.

The 1995 report also identified the factors that could lead to a

deterioration of relations between the ethnic Albanians and the Slav majority in Macedonia:

One characteristic that raises much concern about the future prospect of escalated ethnic conflict is the degree of separation between the ethnic Albanians and Slavs of Macedonia. Ethnic Albanians live in closed villages, with their own religion and language. Their "customs, social organization, traditions" differ greatly from that of their Slav neighbours and leads to an atmosphere of "suspicion and mistrust" between the two communities (Mickey and Albion 56).

…The effect of radically different social institutions in creating a separate Albanian existence within Macedonia were only (and are) compounded by the economic realities of Macedonia. Under the communist regime, state directed firms and institutions systematically discriminated against ethnic Albanians in their promotion and hiring practices. Federal and state economic development initiatives largely neglected western Macedonia, and the primary beneficiaries of governmental resource distribution were the Slav Macedonian majority (Mickey and Albion 57). Ethnic Albanians, in the modern Republic of Macedonia, constitute "only 4% of the state sector", with most ethnic Albanians concentrated in blue collar positions (Poulton, "After UN Recognition," 26). This statistic gives more credence to the estimate that over 30% of the nation's gross domestic product is accounted for by black market activities (Poulton, "After UN Recognition," 26).

…The lack of economic and social connection to a Macedonian nation also is evident in the behavior of the ethnic Albanian political party.

A 22 September 1997 report of the Skopje-based  MIC news agency states that the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP) was in 1997 a member of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM); it describes the party as "moderate" and "a political subject determined to act in the system's institutions for the achieving of the political, national and personal interests of the citizens of Albanian nationality." However, according to the 1995 CIDCM report:

PDP leaders were increasingly seen in an unfavorable light by a dissatisfied ethnic Albanian community. The Bit Pazar unrest, and arrest of important PDP members in November of 1993 and January 1994 over alleged participation in separatist activities, further reduced the popularity of PDP leaders who responded to each crisis by appealing for calm and order.

Meanwhile, the SDSM coalition was defeated in the 18 October and 1 November 1998 elections and a rival Albanian Democratic Party (PDA), perceived as more radical, was invited to join the new VRMO-DPMNE ruling coalition (People In Power, 31 July 1999; MIC 22 Sept. 1997; Wilfred Derksen's Electoral Web Site 28 June 1999). For more information on the DPA, please consult MCD32943.E of 15 October 1999. According to an 8 June 1999 report from the Belgrade-based Tanjug Agency, the moderate PDP, the strongest ethnic Albanian opposition party, had accused DPA leader Arben Dzaferi of "betraying the minority's interests by agreeing to cooperate with the Macedonian authorities and accepting the constitution that does not grant ethnic Albanians the status of constituent people." The PDP also threatened to:

 …call for the revision of all laws regulating inter-ethnic relations, including those passed by the ruling coalition comprising the VMRO-DPMNE led by Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski, the Democratic Alternative led by Vasil Tupurkovski and the ethnic Albanian Democratic Party (DPA) led by Arben Dzaferi.

No additional information on the PDP could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. For historical information on the PDP, please refer to Political Handbook of the World 1998, and previous editions, available in Regional Documentation Centres.

No information on the activities of the group called the "Black Eagles" in Macedonia could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, according to a 16 July 1998 commentary published by BETA, a Belgrade source, states that the Black Eagles were a movement close to the People's Movement for Kosovo, made of "former Marxists and Leninists, supporters of former Albanian communist leaders Enver Hoxa and Ramiz Alija" and were supervised by Dzavid Xaliti, a former colonel of the "dreaded" Albanian communist secret police. The report quotes "a French analyst" that Xaliti was living in Switzerland and that he and the two organizations were involved in drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other profitable illegal activities in Switzerland and that although Albanian Marxists and Leninists had become a "nationalist mafia," they have kept their "Maoist mentality and capability of organizing themselves."

No further information on the "Black Eagles" could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

BETA [Belgrade, in English]. 16 July 1998. "Kosovo: BETA Views Struggle for Control of the UCK." (FBIS-EEU-98-197 16 July 1998/WNC)

MIC [Skopje, in English]. 22 September 1997. "FYROM: Situation in Parties Viewed in Terms of Coming Elections." (FBIS-EEU-97-265 22 Sept. 1997/WNC)

People in Power [Cambridge, UK]. 31 July 1999. Release No. 73. Cambridge: CIRCA Research and Reference Information.

Tanjung News Agency [Belgrade, in English]. 8 June 1999. "Party Demands 'Constituent Status' for Ethnic Albanians." (BBC Summary 10 June 1999/NEXIS)

University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM). Minorities at Risk Project. 25 December 1995. Albanians in Macedonia.

[Accessed 19 Oct.1999]

Wilfried Derksen's Electoral Web Sites. "Political Parties Around the World" http://www.agora.stm.it/elections/parties.htm> [Accessed 19 Oct. 1999]

Additional Sources Consulted

Electronic Sources: IRB databases.

Internet sources including:

Balkan Info Home. Macedonia. Political parties.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

Transitions Online.