A quarter of a century after the signing of the Ohrid Agreement, political parties in the country continue to have differing assessments of the results and benefits the agreement has brought to Albanians.

Experts in the field regard the Ohrid Agreement as a document that has produced significant progress, but one that is not without shortcomings. University professor Bashkim Selmani told TVM2 that Albanians should demand rights and obligations commensurate with their contribution to the state. According to him, the factual and legal reality of Albanians in North Macedonia are still not fully aligned.

Selmani described the agreement as an important starting point for the future of Albanians and the state of Macedonia, but stressed that its failures and legal priorities must also be analyzed. He underscored that every agreement should contain three elements and that, after its implementation, legal security and a monitoring mechanism must be guaranteed. According to the professor, Albanians were not sufficiently attentive in interpreting the legal section of the agreement, through which they were included in international conventions as minorities, despite being an indigenous people. Selmani considered this a fatal failure for the future of the Albanian nation.

He said the main shortcomings are related to legal equality, economic equality and the indigenous status of Albanians.

The professor called for Albanians’ human rights and freedoms to be complete, at 100 percent. According to him, the level of rights and obligations should correspond to what Albanians contribute and pay to the state, since the current situation does not match the factual and legal reality. Selmani added that Macedonians should also have a clear right to interpret issues they consider to be in their interest.

Selmani also assessed that Macedonia and Macedonians were freed from Russian and Slavic influence, while Bulgaria and Greece had also made claims against them. According to him, these developments were also made possible by the geographical position of Albanians.

In conclusion, he said that Albanians and Macedonians must understand the importance of the state’s joint functioning and development, abandoning claims that it belongs to only one community. /tvm2

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On the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, SDSM leader Venko Filipče described the document as the foundation underpinning the country’s peace, coexistence and democratic prospects.

According to Filipče, Macedonia belongs equally to all its citizens, while diversity should serve as a source of strength rather than be exploited for political division or the incitement of hatred.

“Today marks 25 years since the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the document that ended the armed conflict of 2001 and reaffirmed Macedonia’s territorial integrity, as well as its democratic future. Our country’s greatest strength lies precisely in the fact that it is a common home for Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, Roma, Bosniaks and all other citizens. Differences are an integral part of our society, so we have a duty to value them as an asset and not turn them into an instrument of political division,” he stressed.

Filipče added that the Ohrid Framework Agreement demonstrates that peace, dialogue and compromise are always more powerful than conflict, division and hatred. He said that, even after 25 years, everyone has a responsibility to build Macedonia’s future on coexistence, equality and mutual respect, rather than through divisions, insults and hatred.

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President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova described Struga as a city where ethnic, religious and all other differences are respected and harmonized, praising it as a model of coexistence. She made the statement following today’s meeting with the Mayor of the Municipality of Struga, Mendi Qyra, during which they discussed the situation in the municipality, interethnic relations and the challenges of preserving the Ohrid Region, which is under UNESCO protection.

Siljanovska-Davkova explained that the choice of Struga for the visit carried symbolic significance, as it took place on the day marking the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. According to her, the city demonstrates that diversity can be respected and communities can live together.

One issue that particularly drew the president’s attention was how the independent mayor, supported by citizens of different ethnic backgrounds and political beliefs, helps bridge divisions and unite the community around shared interests.

The discussion focused on citizens’ specific concerns, as well as the responsibilities of local authorities and state institutions to maintain the Ohrid Region’s UNESCO status. Following the meeting, Siljanovska-Davkova emphasized the need for coordinated action between the central and local levels in order to make use of the opportunity provided and fulfill the obligations arising from UNESCO’s decisions.

“For me, one of the important issues is how we approach the opportunity over these five years to make use of the trust and chance that UNESCO has given us. The Mayor of the Municipality of Struga has a very important role, as do the Mayor of the Municipality of Ohrid, the Ministry of Culture and the other ministries—in other words, the state,” Siljanovska-Davkova said.

She said that she had asked to be briefed on the priorities and initial measures planned by the local authorities to protect the region. The president added that the condition of Lake Ohrid and the surrounding area was of particular concern to her, both as head of state and as a citizen.

In her assessment, the Ohrid Region is a rare case among protected areas because its value is not limited to a single site or location, but encompasses its entire natural and cultural heritage.

Siljanovska-Davkova said the meeting also addressed cooperation with Albania on protecting the lake. She noted that the neighboring country had recently implemented serious measures from which important lessons could be learned.

For his part, Mayor Mendi Qyra said the Framework Agreement remained the foundation of coexistence in Macedonia, which was why the topic featured prominently in the meeting.

Qyra called for a more serious commitment to implementing the recommendations aimed at protecting the Ohrid Region. He also emphasized the need for a more responsible approach to resolving issues and fulfilling UNESCO-related obligations.

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On the anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi said that the document established peace, dialogue and equality as the foundations of a stable society. According to him, the task today is to further develop the agreement’s lessons and transform them into lasting standards of democracy and coexistence.

Gashi stressed that marking this anniversary brings to mind one of the most significant moments in the contemporary history of the Republic of North Macedonia. The agreement, he said, represented a political and institutional response to a crisis that required responsibility, dialogue and a vision for the future.

According to the Parliament Speaker, above all, the document established peace, equality and dialogue as the foundations for building a stable society. Twenty-five years later, its value should be assessed beyond political divisions and day-to-day interpretations.

Gashi’s statement said that the Ohrid Agreement remains one of the main pillars of the country’s constitutional and institutional architecture. He underlined that the current responsibility is to turn its lessons into lasting norms of coexistence and democracy.

The Republic of North Macedonia is the common home of all its citizens, Gashi stressed. He added that the country’s strength does not stem from the differences that divide its citizens, but from the ability to transform them into a shared value.

After a quarter of a century, according to the Parliament Speaker, the question should no longer be only what has been achieved, but what remains to be done to ensure that future generations inherit the country that is desired.

Gashi called for this anniversary to serve as a shared commitment, with today’s political generation and institutions protecting peace through dialogue, strengthening equality and building coexistence through concrete action. He urged that every future generation inherit the Ohrid Agreement not only as a historic turning point, but also as a living value of the state, while citizens, according to him, are the ones with the power to put it into practice every day.

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On the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the document is part of the country’s recent history, as well as its political and institutional reality. According to him, the anniversary should serve as an opportunity to assess the agreement with maturity, respecting the different views within society and, above all, demonstrating responsibility toward the future.

In a Facebook post, Mickoski stressed that history should not be adapted to suit the interests of day-to-day politics. He added that not all citizens can be expected to view past events in the same way.

The prime minister acknowledged that the Framework Agreement is perceived and interpreted differently by citizens. Nevertheless, he said there is a shared obligation to learn from the past and build a state in which differences do not become a source of division but are addressed with prudence, responsibility and through institutions.

Mickoski noted that, more than two decades later, the country is facing new challenges. He said today’s generations want functioning institutions, equality before the law, quality education, better healthcare, a higher standard of living, economic development and opportunities to build their future in the country.

According to him, these are precisely the issues that should unite citizens, regardless of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation. Mickoski stressed that the time has come for politics to pay less attention to what divides people and focus much more on what must be built together.

He also said that Macedonia needs a society in which an individual’s worth is determined not by their origin, but by their knowledge, work, honesty and contribution to the community.

Under the prime minister’s vision, the state should have institutions that serve citizens, while each person’s advancement should be tied to their abilities and results. He said today’s responsibility is to create a stable and safe country where everyone feels respected and is equal before the law, while strengthening the sense of shared belonging and responsibility toward the state.

Mickoski stressed that the past cannot be changed, but the kind of future that will be built can be determined. According to him, that future should be free from ethnic tensions, political manipulation and divisions that have been used for years as a substitute for results.

Instead, as he wrote, the country needs jobs, development, order, mutual respect and strong institutions. The prime minister described leaving future generations a more stable, successful and just Macedonia than the one inherited as an obligation—a country where diversity is respected and the shared future remains stronger than anything that divides its citizens. Mickoski published these views on his Facebook profile./Telegrafi/

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On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Ohrid Agreement, Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ferit Hoxha, described it as one of the greatest political and diplomatic successes achieved in the region.

According to Hoxha, thanks to this agreement, North Macedonia had the opportunity to build a more democratic, multiethnic and inclusive state, prioritizing dialogue and compromise over conflict.

He emphasized that the Ohrid Agreement does not belong only to the past, but constitutes a political contract that must be continuously implemented and safeguarded.

Hoxha considers guaranteeing equality, fair representation, respect for language and the protection of communities’ rights essential to peace and stability. In his assessment, the spirit of Ohrid lives on through NATO, cooperation among the countries of the region and North Macedonia’s path toward European integration.

In conclusion, the minister stressed that Albania considers North Macedonia’s stability to be directly linked to the security and future prospects of the Western Balkans.

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