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Reforms in the state administration of Northern Macedonia should be done following the principles of the Ohrid Agreement which have been followed in drafting the country’s laws.
However there is still uncertainty when it comes to full implementation in practice. Recently, several Department of Defense staff members told VOA about their complaints of discrimination on ethnic grounds. Our correspondent Isak Ramadani spoke with one of them and a senior official of the Ministry, who denies these allegations.
Muhaedin Bela, a colonel in the Army of Northern Macedonia and an administration employee at the Ministry of Defense, says in an interview with VOA that Albanians are underrepresented in the leading military structures and those of the Ministry of Defense in accordance with the laws that arise from the Ohrid Agreement.
He emphasizes that Albanians in this ministry but also in the army face obstacles in terms of career advancement. Meanwhile, he has filed a lawsuit in court against the already former Minister of Defense and two other officials for discrimination.
“In the Ministry of Defense, out of 15 State Advisers, only 1 is Albanian. Of the 18 sector leaders, none are Albanian. Out of 77 sections, only one is Albanian. Out of 20 battalions, or 13 battalions and 7 Centers, only 3 commanders are Albanian. The percentage in special units is very small; it seems to me now it has become about 4 per cent. I am the author of the Plan for fair and appropriate representation drafted in the period 2012-2015, which provided for everything to be completed by 2015 ”.
Mr. Bela also says that in the army, of the nine specific sections or divisions of the General Staff as J-1 to J-9, as they are known in military terminology, only one is Albanian.
But the Deputy Minister of Defense, Bashkim Hasani, in a conversation with the Voice of America, says that Mr. Bela’s claims are politically motivated.
“The number of (state) Councilors is not 15 but it is 5 in the Ministry of Defense and out of these five, one is the same person, who accuses us of alleged discrimination. Out of 16 leaders of the sectors, 15 are fulfilled, authorized and four of them are Albanians “.
However, there seems to be uncertainty about the number of heads of sectors in the MoD. On the Ministry’s website, out of the 18 names listed, two appear to be Albanians, while most of them in these positions are authorized, which means temporary exercise of duty. Mr. Bela says that it is a criminal offense to appoint authorized persons at the head of the sector as long as there are managers suspended from these positions.
Deputy Minister Hasani says that the filling of these positions does not depend only on the political will, which exists, but also on the observance of rules and laws; that the Legal Regulation does not allow discrimination on ethnic grounds, because during the opening of the competition, a mechanism for balancing on ethnic grounds determines how many of the Albanian competitors should be hired and how many from other communities.
“In the last competition for administrators here in the Ministry of Defense, out of five hired, two are Albanians, and not only are they Albanians, but they are also prepared,” he says.
Mr. Hasani adds that the successful integration of Northern Macedonia in NATO military structures speaks of the country’s commitment, because the principles of the Alliance, according to him, do not allow discrimination of any kind.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bela says that the Ministry is hindering the advancement of personnel and the promotion of military ranks of officers. He refers to the Plan approved by the Parliament, which derives from the Ohrid Agreement and which provides for the increase to 35% of the representatives of non-majority communities, respectively to 25% of Albanians in Defense (MoD) and the army:
“According to the Constitution, the Law on Defense, the Law on Army Service, the Defense Strategy, it is envisaged that the movement, the advancement of non-majority ethnicities be done not only horizontally and quantitatively, but also vertically and qualitatively. And we have staff, maybe not enough, but the question is why this has not been done so far? “
But, Deputy Minister Hasani says that based on the structure and organization of the Army, Albanians are represented in the military hierarchy by 50 percent and in addition are prepared and responsible:
“The rank of general is not given by the Minister of Defense or anyone else in the Ministry, but is given by the President. There are four commands in the military hierarchy: the Logistics Base, which is led by an Albanian (Muharrem Muharremi), the Operations Command, one of the Top-1 in the military hierarchy led by General Besnik Emini and there are two units and commands of other which are led by other military ”.
Mr. Bela has pursued his grievances institutionally, while informing a number of domestic institutions and international offices about what he considers injustice and discrimination. Other employees, speaking on condition of anonymity with VOA, also complain of irregularities, discrimination; for not evaluating their contribution to the Ministry of Defense, as they have filed complaints with the Commission for Protection against Discrimination.
Colonel Bela has already sued the former Minister of Defense, Radmilla Sekerinska and two other representatives of the Ministry. The lawsuit was filed almost two years ago, but the courts have not processed the case. The Office of the People’s Advocate, which is interested in the case, has received a response from the Basic Court that “the delay in processing cases related to rights in the workplace is being done due to the lack of judges.”
“For two years I have been assigned four preparatory sessions (in court); “None of them were detained, and on the other hand, five judges were replaced.”
VOA asked Ms. Sekerinska to speak while she was in office, but received no response from her office.
However, the situation in the army and defense can not be compared to that of a decade ago, when Albanians hardly reached high ranks in the army.
There were two Ministers of Defense in the years 2011 – 2014, who were Albanians.
The practical implementation of the Ohrid Agreement has taken time and is not respected everywhere. But on the other hand, it has significantly increased the level of representation of communities in state and public institutions, although cases of injustice are not excluded./VOA
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