BDI’s proposal for street renaming received support not only from members of this party but also from councilors of the VLEN coalition. Other political groups in the council opposed or abstained during the voting process.

The dissatisfaction of BDI representatives stemmed from the fact that their proposed item would be addressed last, after 25 other issues scheduled on the agenda. After a second coordinating break, they chose to abandon the session.

Berat Murati, who leads the BDI advisory group, explained the reasons for this action: “We left the meeting because, although we insisted several times that our issue be first on the agenda, VLEN colleagues and the mayor repeatedly refused. We had three or four consultations, but still the decision was made that our item would not be a priority.”

On the other hand, deputy mayor Albi Qamili, who is part of VLEN, interpreted BDI’s actions as an attempt to create artificial division. According to him, the aim was to overshadow the achievements of the local government, such as the start of works on the Tetovo-Prizren road axis.

“Today we witnessed a strange stance from BDI councilors, who, trying to stage a political show, demanded that the street names be re-voted. After we approved their request, they simply left,” Qamili stated. He also announced that the Street Renaming Commission will meet the next day to begin resolving the issues in accordance with legal procedures.

The street naming issue returned to focus after the Constitutional Court on June 17 annulled the previous decision of the Tetovo Municipal Council, taken in 2007.

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The protesters’ march began at Iliria Square and ended in front of the Tetovo Municipality building. Banners were placed there with the slogans “Even the streets speak Albanian” and “History cannot be repealed,” while participants also demanded the resignation of the Mayor of Tetovo Municipality, Bilall Kasami.

Before the protest began, the head of DUI’s branch in Tetovo, Bajram Rexhepi, said that Tetovo Municipality had obstructed citizens from taking part in this second protest.

According to Rexhepi, their further actions will depend on how Tetovo Municipality responds regarding this issue.

“You see a mountain of people showing their anger over the return of the old street names in Tetovo Municipality. What has surprised us is how Tetovo Municipality is trying to prevent citizens from participating in the protest. We notified the police about the protest. But also the diplomatic corps in Skopje, who are monitoring the protest. The protests will continue, and they depend on the reflection that Tetovo Municipality will show,” Rexhepi said.

This marks the second protest organized by DUI in Tetovo to oppose the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove the names of the streets and squares.

A few days earlier, the Constitutional Court annulled Tetovo Municipality’s 2007 decision to rename the streets and squares, on the grounds that government approval had not been obtained for it.

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According to DUI, Kasami has once again shown the citizens a lack of political and institutional strength.

In its statement, the party says that, being unable to take responsibility and provide solutions to Tetovo’s problems, he is trying to cover up his failure through claims about new elections for the Tetovo Municipal Council.

In its full reaction, DUI says that Bilall Kasami, known since his youth for verses of praise dedicated to Josip Broz Tito, later part of the pre-election coalition “Mozheme,” and today part of a Government without the legitimacy of Albanians, has on several occasions displayed his political weakness before the public.

According to them, this was seen when the Prime Minister publicly cut him off, in his relations with Government ministers, and now as well, when, according to DUI, he is not showing the political courage to defend the names of Tetovo’s streets and squares.

DUI stresses that instead of concrete steps, Kasami is putting forward unfounded legal theories, while instead of responsibility he is seeking an alibi. Likewise, according to the party, instead of cooperating to resolve the issue, he is trying to create an artificial crisis and then use it as a reason for new elections.

The statement also says that, for the sake of the truth, DUI did not propose as an agenda item the same list of names that was abrogated by the Constitutional Court. According to them, the proposed list contains a total of 67 names and, for this reason, this issue cannot serve either as a cause or as a pretext for dissolving the Tetovo Municipal Council.

Further, DUI believes that Bilall Kasami should stop avoiding responsibility and work with councilors and political forces to resolve this problem for the benefit of Tetovo and its residents.

However, according to the party, it appears that he still has not received permission from VMRO-DPMNE to vote for the Albanians’ initiative to restore the names of the streets and squares, which, according to the reaction, were unconstitutionally abrogated by the Constitutional Court.

DUI raises the question of whether or not Bilall Kasami has received permission from VMRO-DPMNE to vote for the Albanians’ initiative. According to the party, if the will exists, he should vote for it, while if he does not dare, he should publicly declare that he is waiting for permission from his government partners.

Finally, DUI states that if Bilall Kasami and his partners want elections, then he should not hide behind the dissolution of the Municipal Council. According to the party, he should immediately resign from the post of Mayor of Tetovo Municipality and then elections should be held.

The reaction also states that a mayor who has failed to solve a single problem in Tetovo, who seeks excuses for every failure, shifts responsibility onto others, and waits for a signal from his Government partners for every decision, cannot hold either the Municipal Council or the citizens of Tetovo hostage.

DUI concludes by stressing that if Bilall Kasami wants elections, he should not sacrifice the Council to save himself, but should resign and face the citizens of Tetovo himself.

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The chairman of the Municipal Council, Jusuf Abduli, said that from a legal standpoint, if a decision that was previously annulled by the Constitutional Court is put to a vote again, then the Municipal Council is automatically dissolved and the country goes to early elections.

“It should be clarified that if the same item is voted on, there is also a possibility that the Council could be dissolved, if we also take into account the decision of the Constitutional Court… In the case of the same decision, the chances are very high that the Tetovo Municipal Council will be dissolved,” Abduli stressed.

The council meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, July 13, and the agenda also includes the item on a re-vote of the 2007 decision on naming streets in Tetovo.

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In its reaction, the Municipality says that the Albanian judges of the Constitutional Court, elected by the previous government, instead of defending the Albanian interest in this institution, are engaging in day-to-day politics.

According to the Municipality, the truth is that the decision to rename the streets in Tetovo never fully entered into force, because the 4 DUI-led governments after 2007 never processed it as a decision in the Government. For this reason, it is emphasized that these names were never registered either in the Cadastre or in the Central Registry.

The same reaction states that, despite this situation, the Albanian judges in the Constitutional Court should not have allowed this procedure to be opened precisely at a time when the Municipality of Tetovo is close to completing the process for the official renaming of streets in Tetovo.

The Municipality adds that with this action, the aim is clearly to incite interethnic tensions, while behind this tendency, according to it, stands DUI.

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