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Since the year of 1913, Macedonia was
divided on four parts. The fourth went into the borders of Albania. That was the
region Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo. The albanian government hasn't done any
colonization problems but there still was violation of their human rights. The
Macedonian language was forbidden by the albanian authorities. Also all
Macedonian population had to change it's names. The suffix of the Macedonian
surname -vski and -ov were forbidden too. Mala Prespa is a region of the
albanian side of the
Lake
of Prespa, where Macedonians live in 9 villages. On the Albanian
side of the
Lake
of Ohrid, with the city Pogradec, ethnic Macedonians represent a majority
and together with the colonized Albanians live side by side. Golo Brdo is a small region in the area near
Debar,
but from the other side of the border. Here dominant population is the
Macedonian.
 It is estimated that there are over 280,000 Macedonians
living in Albania. Their greatest concentration is in the bordering regions of Golo Brdo and Mala Prespa. There is also a large number of Macedonians who
live in the capital of albania, Tirana, around 20,000 and the other as a
dominant population live in Pogradec, Korca (Gorica), Kavaja and Elbasan.
In the region of Mala Prespa, there has been instruction
in Macedonian since 1945 in elementary up to fifth grade, for which textbooks
have been issued by the state. It is expected that the right to instruction in
their mother language, according to international standards, will also be
extended to pupils of Macedonian ethnic affiliation in the other parts of
Albania.
 There
are several organized and active associations of Macedonians in Albania, but the
opportunities for political engagement are small because the state does not
financially their organization. It was as late as 1993 that the first periodical
in Macedonian, the journal Mir (peace) appeared. Albanian Radio and Television
still do not broadcast programmes in Macedonian. There is no instruction in
Macedonian in secondary schools.
The position of ethnic Macedonians in Albania cannot be
compared with that of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia. While in Macedonia, ethnic
Albanians (Shqiptare) appears Representatives in the Assembly and their major
party is a government coalition partner, the Macedonians in Albanian still have
no opportunities for genuine political participation. At present, there are no
ethnic Macedonian Members of Parliament, and Macedonians are also not
represented in the institutions of state authority and local-self government.
However, the situation has changed. The Albanian state lately, has given more
rights to its ethnic Macedonian minority. In the part where Macedonians live,
there was for the first time used as a coat of arms, of a Macedonian majority
municipality (Mala Prespa), the 16-pointed golden sun of Vergina. |
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