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Not a drop of blood : Macedonia

Opinió | 02/12/2010

Imagen articulo

Macedonia was the only republic from the former Yugoslavia which gained independence from the federation without a prior war. This has not prevented the new state from having to confront serious problems which still mark its political and international agenda, such as how the important Albanian minority fits in or the eternal conflict with Greece concerning the country’s official name

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia did not hesitate to follow the steps of Slovenia and Croatia and, two months after its rich neighbours from the north, Skopje proclaimed independence. The Macedonians, poorer than other republics, did not suffer from reprisals by the Yugoslav federal army. The secession process was observed with certain apathy by the national minorities present in Macedonia, above all the most important, the Albanians, almost a quarter of the total population.

How the Albanian population fits in is still one of the issues present on the Macedonian political agenda. During the Kosovo war there were even armed confrontations between Albanian militias and the Macedonian army. Albanian is now recognized as an official language in the territories where it is spoken, although decentralization is still a pending issue.

Macedonia’s other major problem on the international scene is the republic’s name. Greece’s refusal to accept that the new state is called like one of its provinces and uses symbols of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, which does not have anything to do with the current Slav republic, has delayed or prevented its membership of international organizations such as the European Union. All in all, the Macedonian society, economy and politics can still be considered to be in a phase of consolidation.

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