Insurgency in The Republic of Macedonia - Ohrid Framework Agreement

Ohrid Framework Agreement

The Ohrid Framework Agreement which was signed on 13 August 2001, put an official end of the armed conflict. The agreement set the groundwork for increasing the rights of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia. The Agreement also included provisions for altering the official languages of the country, with any language spoken by over 20% of the population becoming co-official with the Macedonian language on municipal level. Currently only Albanian with an approximate 25% of the population fulfils this criterion. According to the document, the version in English language is the only authentic version of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.

The Agreement was preceded by the Ohrid discussions, a series of talks between Albanian and Macedonian representatives, along with representatives from the United States and European Union. The talks took place in Ohrid in the south-west of Macedonia. The agreement was negotiated by Zoran Jolevski, Secretary General of President Boris Trajkovski. The Macedonian side was represented by the VMRO-DPMNE and the SDSM, while the Albanian side was represented by the DPA and the PDP. Although actively participating in armed conflict, the National Liberation Army did not participate directly in the talks.