The Albanian parliament passed a law for the protection of minorities in the country during a session late Friday night. With 102 in favour and 10 against out of a total of 140, the neighbouring county’s MPs passed the relevant law for the first time in its history after it became a democracy following the fall of the communist regime. Its ratification is one of the conditions the European Union has set on Albania for the start of talks on the country’s accession negotiations with the EU.
The law recognises 9 ethnic minorities, out of the three Albania had previously recognised in practice but without any legal cover.
These are: the ethnic Greek minority, the largest and most recognised minority, the minority of Skopje (FYROM), and those of the Serbs and Montenegrins. The law recognises ethnic minorities and linguistic or cultural minorities, such as the Vlachs, the Egyptians, the Roma, the Bosnian ethnic minority, and lastly the Bulgarian ethnic minority.
The organisation of the Greeks minority of “Omonia” and the Human Rights Party (KEAD) reacted harshly against the law, noting that this law restricts the rights of minorities, instead of specifying, expanding and better safeguarding the rights of ethnic minorities provided for in the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Minority Protection. They note that the law restrains the self-action of national minorities, since all the powers are concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister and the Government. Particular emphasis is placed on the limitations of the law regarding the respect towards educational, cultural and property rights.