VLEN Accuses Ali Ahmeti of Sidelining the Spirit of the Ohrid Agreement in Favor of the Open Balkan Initiative

VLEN issued a statement today accusing DUI of exploiting the Ohrid Agreement for political gain for more than two decades. According to VLEN, the agreement that ended the 2001 conflict was presented by Ali Ahmeti’s party as the foundation of its activities and placed at the center of its political discourse.

The statement says that, during the period when the Open Balkan initiative was being promoted, the impression was created that Ali Ahmeti had changed his political priorities. VLEN argues that, instead of focusing political and institutional efforts on fully consolidating the achievements of the Ohrid Agreement, DUI and Ali Ahmeti became the strongest supporters of a regional initiative led primarily by Serbia.

VLEN questions whether the political capital secured through the Ohrid Agreement was redirected toward a project that was not a key priority for Albanians and did not have a pan-Albanian consensus. The party also wants to know what Albanians gained from this major political investment and whether the rights guaranteed by the agreement made further progress, answering emphatically: “NO.”

As evidence supporting this position, VLEN cites what it says is DUI’s current obstruction of the adoption of the Law on Equitable Representation, which it describes as a right stemming from the Ohrid Agreement. The statement stresses that DUI failed to fulfill this obligation for more than two decades and is now opposing the law’s adoption solely because the initiative was undertaken by VLEN.

According to VLEN, defending the Ohrid Agreement cannot be limited to mentioning it in speeches. It requires continuous work to fully implement the agreement, as well as placing the interests of Albanians ahead of any political project that threatens the region and national interests.