page_title: History of North Macedonia
section_title: 2000s
hierarchical_section_title: History of North Macedonia / 2000s
caption_attribution_description: English: Bust dedicated to Mile Janevski - Dzingar in Makedonska Kamenica, a fallen soldier of the Macedonian army during the 2001 conflict in the country
context_page_description: The history of Republic of North Macedonia encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state of Republic of Macedonia as well as that of the Macedonian people and the areas they inhabited historically.
context_section_description: In the spring of 2001, ethnic Albanian insurgents calling themselves the National Liberation Army (some of whom were former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army) took up arms in the west of the Republic of Macedonia. They demanded that the constitution be rewritten to enshrine certain ethnic Albanian interests such as language rights.  The guerillas received support from Albanians in NATO-controlled Kosovo and ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the demilitarized zone between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia. The fighting was concentrated in and around Tetovo, the fifth largest city in the republic.
  After a joint NATO-Serb crackdown on Albanian guerrillas in Kosovo, European Union (EU) officials were able to negotiate a cease-fire in June. The government would give ethnic Albanians greater civil rights, and the guerrilla groups would voluntarily relinquish their weapons to NATO monitors. This agreement was a success, and in August 2001 3,500 NATO soldiers conducted "Operations Essential Harvest" to retrieve the arms. Directly after the operation finished in  September  the NLA officially dissolved itself. Ethnic relations have since improved significantly, although hardliners on both sides have been a continued cause for concern and some low level violence continues particularly directed against police.
  On 26 February 2004, President Boris Trajkovski died in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of the official investigation revealed that the cause of the plane accident was procedural mistakes by the crew, committed during the approach to land at Mostar airport.
  In March 2004, the Republic of Macedonia submitted an application for membership of the EU. On 17 December 2005, EU Presidency conclusions listed the Republic of Macedonia as an accession candidate. It was expected that the EU would announce in late 2006 the date for commencement of EU accession negotiations.
  In August 2005, Poland became the 112th country, out of 191 total members of UN, to recognize the then Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name. Before a permanent agreement between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia about the latter's name had been reached, the proposal was to name it 'Republika Makedonija-Skopje' (with that spelling), but was rejected by the Republic of Macedonia. The UN mediator Matthew Nimetz proposed another form several months afterward, proposing that the name "Republika Makedonija" should be used by the countries that have recognized the country under that name and that Greece should use the formula "Republika Makedonija – Skopje", while the international institutions and organizations should use the name "Republika Makedonia" in Latin alphabet transcription, but this form was rejected by Greece.
caption: Monument in Makedonska Kamenica to a Macedonian soldier killed during the insurgency in 2001.
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