IV
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 103
Expressing support for equal and fair access to higher education in the
Albanian language in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 21, 1995
Mr. GILMAN submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing support for equal and fair access to higher edu-
cation in the Albanian language in the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia.
Whereas failure to achieve fair and cooperative inter-ethnic
relations often leads to governmental repression and con-
flict between peoples of different ethnic backgrounds;
Whereas the achievement of fair and cooperative treatment of
all citizens, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, is a
serious challenge for all of the states of the Balkans re-
gion, including those states that gained their independ-
ence after the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Repub-
lic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas, as is seen in the ongoing conflicts in the Republic
of Croatia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
attempts by any one ethnic group to engage in so-called
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‘‘ethnic cleansing’’ or to divide states along ethnic lines
can lead to vicious conflict and tremendous suffering;
Whereas, as is seen in the repression of ethnic minorities in
the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina in the state of Ser-
bia and Montenegro, failure to properly incorporate citi-
zens of different ethnic backgrounds within political, so-
cial and governmental spheres can lead to violent repres-
sion of those ethnic minorities and merely promote the
use of violence by such repressed minorities to gain their
proper political and social rights;
Whereas the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as a
successor state to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugo-
slavia, faces important issues involving the fair and equi-
table treatment of all of its citizens, regardless of their
ethnic background;
Whereas the extraordinary census conducted by the Govern-
ment of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in
June 1994 determined that those citizens of Albanian de-
scent constitute at least 23 percent of the total popu-
lation;
Whereas Macedonia’s citizens of Albanian descent are in-
creasingly concerned to ensure fair and equitable treat-
ment as citizens of the state of Macedonia, including ap-
propriate opportunities for education at all levels of in-
struction;
Whereas the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is an
applicant for membership in the Council of Europe, an
organization that encourages its member states to pro-
vide the opportunity for educational instruction in the
languages of minority groups that constitute the citizenry
of those states;
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Whereas the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is an
applicant for membership in the Organization on Security
and Cooperation in Europe, an organization that, in the
‘‘Copenhagen Document’’ of its 1990 Conference on the
Human Dimension, noted the need for adequate opportu-
nities for educational instruction in the native languages
of citizens from minority groups;
Whereas international documents and conventions recognize
the right of persons belonging to national minorities to
establish their own educational institutions within the
framework of and in conformity with the legislation of
the state within which they live;
Whereas admissions of ethnic Albanian citizens of the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the Univer-
sities at Skopje and Bitola extend only up to 10 percent
of total new enrollments, a figure far below the 23 per-
cent of Macedonia’s population that is composed of ethnic
Albanians;
Whereas higher education for ethnic Albanian citizens of
Macedonia is made more difficult by the lack of general
usage of the Albanian language at that level of instruc-
tion;
Whereas ethnic Albanian citizens of Macedonia had benefited
from the creation of an Albanian-language University in
Prishtina in the neighboring region of Kosovo after 1974;
Whereas the Albanian-language University at Prishtina was
closed by the government of Serbia in 1990, preventing
ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia from receiving university-level in-
struction in their native language;
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Whereas there are increasing reports that the ethnic Albanian
citizens of Macedonia are concerned that efforts to en-
sure access to higher education in the Albanian language
have met with little success;
Whereas an application was filed with the Ministry of Edu-
cation of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in
October 1994 seeking permission to open an Albanian-
language university as part of the established system of
education;
Whereas ethnic Albanian students at the Pedagogical Acad-
emy of the University at Skopje conducted a strike in
November 1994 in support of instruction in the Albanian
language to better ensure their ability to properly in-
struct students at the primary and secondary levels em-
ploying the Albanian language;
Whereas, in the absence of a response to the application filed
with the Ministry of Education of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia in October 1994, attempts were
made in December 1994 to begin university classes in the
Albanian language at Tetovo, Macedonia and were pre-
vented by the intervention of police forces;
Whereas several ethnic Albanian Members of Parliament
from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Dr. Fadil Sulejmani, former professor and rector at the
Albanian Language University in Prishtina, Kosovo, now
residing in Tetovo, Macedonia, visited the United States
in February 1995 and informed United States Members
of Congress of their concern for the lack of higher edu-
cation in the Albanian language;
Whereas in February 1995 a private delegation of United
States citizens led by former Member of Congress Joseph
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DioGuardi visited Tetovo, Macedonia to observe renewed
attempts to establish university classes offered in the Al-
banian language;
Whereas in February 1995 such renewed attempts to open an
Albanian-language university at Tetovo, Macedonia were
again prevented by police forces, with the death of one
ethnic Albanian citizen of Macedonia and the wounding
of 28 other persons occurring as a result of the related
violence;
Whereas in June 1995 the ethnic Albanian party of Demo-
cratic Prosperity in the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia expressed its concerns to the Council of Eu-
rope regarding the lack of adequate opportunity for high-
er education in the Albanian language;
Whereas the High Commissioner for National Minorities of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
has stated that it is time for a dialogue between the Gov-
ernment of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
and representatives of the ethnic Albanian minority in
Macedonia on issues such as access to higher education
in the language of national minorities; and
Whereas the Government and Parliament of the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are considering the
adoption of a new law on higher education: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the Government of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia should take all appropriate
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measures to ensure the fair and equitable treatment
of all of its citizens, regardless of ethnic background;
(2) while steps taken by the Government of the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to ensure
instruction in the Albanian language and the lan-
guage of other national minorities in Macedonia at
the primary and secondary levels of education are
commendable, the ethnic Albanian citizens of Mac-
edonia continue to suffer from the lack of oppor-
tunity for higher education in their native language;
(3) the Government and Parliament of the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should
therefore consider, within the framework of the
adoption of a new law on higher education, all
means by which higher education conducted in the
Albanian language can be provided, including the es-
tablishment of an Albanian-language university;
(4) the Government of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia should also undertake steps
to ensure the establishment of Albanian-language
pedagogical faculties at established universities in
Macedonia;
(5) the efforts by the High Commissioner for
National Minorities of the Organization on Security
and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe,
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and the Working Group on Ethnic Minorities of the
International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia,
to offer guidance and mediation to the Government
of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
representatives of the Albanian minority in resolving
the issue of higher education in the Albanian lan-
guage, are commendable;
(6) the President should express to the Govern-
ment of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
the strong support of the Government of the United
States for measures that will contribute to democ-
racy and stability in the Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, including efforts to ensure access to
higher education in the Albanian language;
(7) the President should offer appropriate sup-
port for the efforts to the High Commissioner on
National Minorities of the Organization on Security
and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the issue of
access to higher education in the Albanian language;
(8) the President should offer appropriate sup-
port for efforts by the Government of the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to ensure access to
higher education in the Albanian language, including
assistance for the establishment of necessary curric-
•HCON 103 IH
ula and the provision of textbooks and related course
materials; and
(9) in the interest of improved inter-ethnic rela-
tions within Macedonia, the President of the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should employ ap-
propriate authority under the Constitution of Mac-
edonia to provide pardons to those convicted of
charges relating to the events that accompanied at-
tempts to open university-level classes in the Alba-
nian language at Tetovo, Macedonia in February
1995.
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