MACEDONIA: RAISING THE RED FLAG? ALBANIANS REACT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000872

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SCUL MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: RAISING THE RED FLAG? ALBANIANS REACT
TO CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION

REF: 2005 SKOPJE 905

SUMMARY


1. (SBU) Ethnic Albanian parties have reacted with a
firestorm of criticism of the Constitutional Court's October
24 decision annulling some provisions of the 2005 Law on
Flags and Symbols, the final legislative piece of the
Framework Agreement (FWA) which allowed eAlbanian-dominated
municipalities to fly the Albanian flag (as a symbol of their
ethnic community) next to the state flag of Macedonia.
Opposition DUI decried the decision as undermining the FWA,
while governing coalition partner DPA pledged to submit a new
law on flags. Ethnic Albanian mayors vowed they would not
implement the decision, and two eAlbanian Constitutional
Court judges, including the President of the Court, resigned
after the decision was issued. The government is waiting for
the decision to enter into force before deciding how to
proceed with implementation, but has confirmed our view that
the ruling does not unduly restrict eAlbanians' right to fly
their national flag in municipalities, and that it extends
that right to other minorities as well. End summary.

ALBANIANS REACT HARSHLY TO COURT DECISION ON LAW ON FLAGS


2. (SBU) Macedonia's Constitutional Court published a
decision October 24 annulling several provisions of the 2005
Law on the Use of Flags and Symbols, sparking outrage and
harsh condemnations from ethnic Albanian parties DUI
(opposition) and DPA (governing coalition). DUI harshly
criticized the decision, which limits in some circumstances
the conditions under which ethnic flags can be flown. DPA
called the decision "tragicomic" and -- in a flash of the
truly absurd -- blamed the decision on DUI, despite the fact
that the DUI-affiliated judge on the Court had voted against
the decision. In the same breath, however, DPA President
Thaci pledged to compile a new law on flags and symbols that
would "harmonize the interests of Albanians, Macedonians, and
state interests."


3. (SBU) In a meeting with the Ambassador November 1, DUI
President Ali Ahmeti characterized the ruling as a "political
decision" which had damaged the Framework Agreement (FWA).
He argued that the court's majority vote on the ruling had
been divided along ethnic lines, and that the decision should
have been voted instead with a qualified, or Badinter,
majority. NOTE: While the Flag Law was passed with a
Badinter majority in July 2005, completing the last
legislative requirement of the FWA (reftel),there is nothing
in the Constitution or in the FWA that suggests judicial
review of such legislation requires a Badinter vote by
Constitutional Court judges. END NOTE.

ETHNIC ALBANIAN MAYORS UP IN ARMS


4. (SBU) Despite the fact that some eAlbanian municipalities
that were previously precluded from flying the Albanian flag
in front of public buildings can now do so because the right
has been extended to all ethnic communities, ethnic Albanian
mayors in more than a dozen municipalities vowed they would
not comply with the decision. Most eAlbanian commentators
and analysts were convinced that the ruling would prohibit
the flying of the Albanian flag at the local level, although
the decision clearly allows it to be flown in all but a few
limited instances.

TWO JUDGES RESIGN, OPENING THE WINDOW FOR GOM COURT-PACKING


5. (SBU) In a reaction to the eAlbanian uproar, two of the
Constitutional Court judges resigned, including the
DUI-affiliated president of the court and an eAlbanian judge
formerly affiliated with DPA. Both judges complained that
the decision had not been adopted by a Badinter vote.
According to DUI VP Arifi, the party had tried to persuade
both judges to remain on the court, fearing that their
departure would open a window of opportunity for the
government to "pack the court" as it replaced the judges. In
fact, the remaining members of the court moved quickly to
replace the president, voting by a 2/3 majority to elect
Trendafil Ivanovski. The two vacant seats remain empty, but

SKOPJE 00000872 002 OF 002


the government is likely to push for them to be quickly
filled.

WHAT'S RIGHT ABOUT THE DECISION?


6. (SBU) In fact, the Constitutional Court in its ruling
extended the right to fly ethnic flags to all minority
communities in a given municipality (rather than just the
"community in the majority", as written in the 2005 law). It
also reaffirmed the right of ethnic Albanians to fly the
state flag of Albania (red background with black
double-headed eagle) as their ethnic flag. In addition, the
court dismissed a 2005 appeal by the center-right nationalist
VMRO-NP party to ban the use of the Albanian flag as
incompatible with the state's sovereignty.

GOVERNMENT BIDING TIME ON IMPLEMENTATION


7. (SBU) So far the government is biding its time before it
announces steps to implement the decision. The court ruling
first must be entered in the Official Gazette for a period of
seven days, after which it enters into force. The Justice
Ministry then drafts implementing language, a process which
could take weeks or months. In discussions of the ruling the
week of October 29, both PM Gruevski's Chief of Staff and
Constitutional Court Judge Mirjana Trajkovska confirmed our
interpretation that minorities would still be able to fly
their ethnic flags, except in certain circumstances. The
PM's Chief of Staff added that the GOM would approach
implementation of the decision cautiously, with enforcement
occurring on a case-by-case basis.

COMMENT: MUCH ADO....


8. (SBU) The Constitutional Court ruling, in our view, does
not undermine the FWA. Article 7 of the FWA gives local
authorities the right to "place in front of public buildings
emblems marking the identity of the community in the majority
of the municipality, respecting international rules and
usages." The 2005 law went well beyond this language in
extending the right to fly the flag in venues other than
public buildings, to include flying it inside those
buildings. The court's decision further extends this right
to minority communities not/not in the majority. The
decision also draws on the Macedonian Constitution, the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and common practice
in Croatia and Slovenia, among other countries, in its legal
arguments. As such, the ruling appears to have been driven
more by legal principles than by political bias. That said,
the Albanian flag, along with the Albanian language, occupies
a special place among ethnic Albanians in Macedonia.
Implementation of even this legitimate judicial decision will
demand sensitivity from all authorities.
MILOVANOVIC