Dimitrievski warns ZNAM may leave government over exam in Albanian; analysts say equality, not privilege, is being sought

Maksim Dimitrievski, leader of the ZNAM Movement and a partner in North Macedonia’s governing coalition, has said his party could leave the government if permission is granted for the bar exam to be taken in Albanian as well.

“If the government decides otherwise, the party is ready to leave the governing coalition,” Dimitrievski said on November 6 in an interview with Sitel television.

He reaffirmed ZNAM’s opposition to administering the exam in any language other than Macedonian and said he would seek talks with the governing partners.

The ZNAM leader said that at his next meeting with the prime minister, he would request a meeting of the coalition leaders. According to him, the issue has not previously been discussed openly with the partners in government, and “red lines” must be set, along with the consequences the matter could have for the state and justice system in the future.

In an earlier statement to Fokus, Dimitrievski said the solution should comply with the Constitution and the laws, adding that the issue should not become a subject of daily political pressure.

Discussion of the possibility of holding the bar exam in Albanian has continued for months, but the institutions have yet to make a final decision on the request by Albanian students.

In April this year, 385 Albanian students petitioned the institutions to request that the exam also be held in Albanian. The Ministry of Justice rejected the request, after which the students protested outside the ministry, demanding recognition of their language rights.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has made different statements on the issue. He initially said students should be given the opportunity to take the exam in Albanian, but later changed his position, saying the law in force does not allow it.

Academic Vllado Kambovski has clarified that the Venice Commission’s recommendations concern the conduct of judicial proceedings, not the language of the bar exam. According to him, the exam can also be taken in Albanian, but candidates must have a good command of Macedonian and legal terminology.

Speaking to Bota sot, Albanian-language professor Sulejman Mehazi and political analyst Vesel Makolli criticized ZNAM’s position and called for Albanian language rights to be respected.

Mehazi: Dimitrievski is using the Albanian language as a tool of political pressure

Professor Sulejman Mehazi has strongly criticized Maksim Dimitrievski, comparing his position to that of the Serb List in Kosovo.

Mehazi believes the threat to leave the government is a form of political pressure. He says opposition to holding the bar exam in Albanian shows that Albanians and their language continue to be seen as a problem in the country.

The professor also questioned Dimitrievski’s political cooperation with other representatives who, he says, hold nationalist views toward Albanians.

“Dimitrievski’s ZNAM Movement is a small partner in Mickoski’s government, and its political influence is symbolic. It has no power to set ‘red lines’ on the use of Albanian. Dimitrievski is merely presenting himself to the Macedonian electorate as a defender of Macedonian and the Constitution of North Macedonia. The warning that he may leave the government is nothing more than a tool of pressure between the parties in power,” Mehazi said.

He called on Albanian parties, both those in government and the opposition, to develop a clear, unified position on the implementation of language rights.

“Dimitrievski’s threat to leave the government shows that in North Macedonia, Albanians and the Albanian language are treated as a problem, not as an asset of a multiethnic state,” Mehazi said.

He added that Albanian parties should clarify and harmonize their positions on implementing the constitutional and legal guarantees related to the use of Albanian.

Makolli: North Macedonia could take Kosovo as an example

Political analyst Vesel Makolli has also responded to Dimitrievski’s opposition to holding the bar exam in Albanian.

Makolli told Bota sot that the debate has legal, constitutional, political and interethnic dimensions. He noted that, according to the 2021 census, Albanians make up 24.3 percent of North Macedonia’s resident population, while Albanian has co-official status under the Constitution and the Law on the Use of Languages.

According to the analyst, the issue is not limited to the formal status of the Albanian language, but also concerns the actual implementation of language rights in state institutions.

Makolli cited Kosovo as an example, where Serbian is an official language throughout the territory, regardless of the percentage of the population that belongs to the Serbian community.

“Why should North Macedonia not follow Kosovo’s example, where Serbian, the language of a community that makes up a much smaller share of the population and does not exceed 3 percent, has official status throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo?” Makolli said.

He emphasized that constitutional equality and language rights should be reflected in the day-to-day work of institutions, rather than remaining merely written principles.

Makolli also challenged what he said was ZNAM’s interpretation of the Venice Commission’s recommendations. He stressed that the recommendations on the use of languages in judicial proceedings do not stipulate that the bar exam must be held only in Macedonian.

“The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, has expressed concern that requiring bilingualism in judicial proceedings could cause delays in the work of the courts. But these are two legally distinct issues: the Commission examined the use of languages in judicial proceedings, while the bar exam is a professional examination organized by the Ministry of Justice. It is inaccurate to claim that the Venice Commission expressly recommended that the exam be held only in Macedonian,” he said.

In conclusion, Makolli called on Albanian parties in North Macedonia to coordinate their actions and urged the institutions of Kosovo and Albania to engage on the issue.

He said diplomacy and cooperation with international representatives should be used to seek the full implementation of the Constitution and the Ohrid Agreement.

“No special privilege is being sought, but equal treatment, respect for national identity and implementation of constitutional guarantees. A common, firm and, above all, institutional position is needed from Albanian political actors. Through internal coordination and the engagement of Albanian diplomacy, it is possible to call for equality and language rights to be fully implemented in practice as well,” Makolli concluded in comments to Bota sot.