Statehood and language

I am working these days on a new edition of my 2019 book entitled From War to Peace in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Ukraine. One of the major themes will be contested statehood and the antidotes. So this message from Ali Ahmeti, leader of the major Albanian opposition party in Macedonia, struck a chord:

DEMOCRATIC UNION FOR INTEGRATION

February 3, 2026

Open Letter

Stable states are built on clear principles, on major political agreements, and on mutual respect between citizens and the peoples who make them up. When these principles are preserved and strengthened, the state moves forward; when they are relativized, unnecessary debates emerge that serve no one.

There are issues that should not be treated with the passion of the day, but with the maturity that the state requires. There are topics that belong neither to political parties nor to electoral competition, but to our shared agreement to live together as equal, in a European common state. One of these issues is the status of the Albanian language as an official language.

For me, equality has never been a slogan. It has been an unwavering political and moral conviction. Since a state becomes strong not when one side feels superior, but when every citizen and every community feels respected, recognized, and represented with full dignity. This is precisely where the weight of a language lies: it is not merely a tool of communication, but an expression of identity, dignity, and constitutional equality.

The Albanian language, for me, is not, and will never be a matter for negotiation. I have said it before and I will repeat it without hesitation: the Ohrid Agreement is the root of this state, and anyone who calls it into question is questioning the very future of the country. The Albanian language is not a privilege, but a right earned and guaranteed by the Constitution. Any attempt to relativize or restrict this right is a direct challenge to the constitutional order and will not pass unanswered.

Albanians in this country have never contested the Macedonian language or Macedonian identity; on the contrary, they have consistently stood for a shared, unitary, Euro-Atlantic, and European Macedonia. This is the truth that must be clearly stated: the equality of Albanians has not weakened the state, it has strengthened it. It has not undermined coexistence, but made it more just. It has not shaken the country’s Western orientation, but enabled it.

I strongly believe and stand by this: linguistic equality is the pillar upon which coexistence stays. Peace and stability are not built on domination, but on genuine equality. A state that does not speak to its citizens in their own language is not an equal state. The Albanian language is not a burden for the state, it is part of its reality and an inseparable component of its institutional identity.

Therefore, any attempt to relativize, reduce, or weaken the status of the Albanian language is not just a legal debate. It is an interference with a carefully constructed balance,one built with political wisdom, responsibility, and commitment to a mutual future. To reduce linguistic rights is to reduce trust. And when trust is undermined, the cohesion of the state is damaged itself.

There is also growing concern regarding certain institutional approaches, particularly within the Constitutional Court, that create a strong impression that, on sensitive interethnic matters, professional and constitutional reasoning is not prevailing. Instead, what appears to dominate is an outdated majoritarian mindset, incompatible with the spirit of the Ohrid Agreement. This calls for serious institutional vigilance.

Because institutions, especially constitutional ones, must act as guardians of equality, not places where established standards of democratic coexistence are questioned.

Even when referring to the assessments of the Venice Commission, the full truth must be told, not just the part that serves a political narrative. The Commission has not concluded that the Law on the Use of Languages contradicts the Constitution or international standards. Its remarks concern practical implementation,namely the need for administrative capacity, organization, and financial support. These are responsibilities of the relevant institutions. In not any serious democracy, as the Commission of Venice emphasizes itself, are implementation challenges used as a justification to delegitimize the principle of the rule of law.

Moreover, international standards are minimum benchmarks, not a ceiling for rights. A state that aspires to Europe does not aim to roll back rights that have already been achieved. In this sense, the Albanian language as an official language is neither a concession, nor a privilege, nor a political favor. It is a right, a reflection of the state’s multiethnic character, and a necessity for a just and sustainable constitutional order.

Every serious political party that claims to be state-building must reflect on this. Intolerance does not move us forward. The rhetoric that says, “you may speak Albanian as much as you want, but there is only one official language,” is neither modern, nor state-building, nor European. It does not bring calm, but tension; it does not build bridges, but deepens divisions; it does not heal, but reopens wounds that this country has paid dearly to close. And it does not strengthen the state, it undermines the very foundation of coexistence.

I do not want anyone in this country to feel threatened by equality. Neither Macedonians by the rights of Albanians, nor Albanians by state institutions. This is the true meaning of coexistence: to live with the feeling that the state belongs to all of us, and that respect is not granted as a favor, but enjoyed as a right.

What is needed today is a wise language, nice approach, and historical responsibility. We must protect both Macedonian and Albanian, the identity of each and the dignity of all. We must protect not only the text of the law, but the spirit of our shared state. Because when equality is protected, peace is protected; when the language of the other is respected, our common state is strengthened.

There is no turning back. Acquired rights are not negotiable and cannot be undone. Any attempt to limit the implementstion of the Albanian language is a dangerous regression. Those who speak today of restrictions must be aware that they are reopening wounds that this country has closed with great sacrifice. These are not matters to be taken lightly.

These rights are not only an internal achievement, they are the result of a shared path with our strategic partners: the European Union, the United States, and NATO. Therefore, their protection is not only a political obligation, but a state and international responsibility.

I believe in a Macedonia that moves forward, not backward. In a state that does not fear equality, but embraces it as its greatest democratic value. In a society where no one is treated as a second-class citizen, and where the Albanian language remains what it is: a part of the constitutional order, part of equality, and an inseparable part of the country’s European future.

I have said it clear: we do not ask for more than what belongs to us, but we will not accept anything less. Equality is not an option, it is an obligation. Today, the problem is not the law, but the lack of the will to implement it. Laws do not enforce themselves, they are implemented by institutions and by people who must hold the responsibility . No one has the right to block or ignore the implementation of a constitutional right. This is not merely a legal violation, it is a breach of the citizen’s trust.

The Constitutional Court must refrain from acting as a pre-political instrument and a tool of destabilizing agendas that undermine the constitutional order and equality in the country.

This is my position, clear, non-negotiable, and irreversible:

there is no future without equality,

no equality without dignity,

and no dignity without the Albanian language as an official language.

Whoever challenges this principle they challenge the very foundation of the state.

Ali Ahmeti

President of the Democratic Union for Integration