SKOPJE, Feb. 23 -- Some 2,000 students from the main university in the Macedonian capital of Skopje demonstrated Thursday in front of the Parliament building, demanding the closure of an Albanian-language university. Last week, one person was killed and 11 others injured when police clashed with ethnic Albanians at the Tetovo university campus in western Macedonia. 'The Albanian university is not good for Macedonia,' said a 23- year-old science student taking part in Thursday's rally. 'There is nothing wrong with the university here, where Albanians have their center. 'Next they will want their own country,' said the student, who asked not to be identified. 'But Macedonia is our country and we built it. They must respect that.' The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which declared its independence from the Yugoslav federation in 1991, has a population of about 2 million, 23 percent of which is ethnic Albanian. Many Macedonians see the Albanian-language university -- which has been declared illegal by the government -- as part of an Albanian nationalist wedge. 'It is dangerous,' said one Macedonian journalist. 'What is the matter with the university in Skopje? Is the Macedonian language not good enough for them? It is all part of making a greater Albania.' The rector of the Albanian university, Fadil Sulejmani, and several other organizers were imprisoned last weekend on charges of inciting people to break the law. The main ethnic Albanian political party, the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP), threatened this week to boycott Parliament in protest.
'We are asking for pens, not guns,' said Sami Ibrahimi, a PDP member of Parliament. 'Every graduate (of the Tetovo university) will have to speak fluent Macedonian. Only the language of instruction will be different from Macedonia's other two universities.' About 400 ethnic Albanians are registered at the new university, which has temporarily suspended classes. Ever since Macedonia gained independence, the PDP has pushed the government to institute instruction of teachers in the Albanian language. The party says only about 3 percent of Macedonia's university students are ethnic Albanians, which it says amounts to discrimination against a minority that makes up almost a quarter of the population. 'Four years ago we began presenting our proposals to the government, ' Ibrahimi said. 'All we got was promises and not a single step toward (supporting) the university.' Although it has threatened to boycott Parliament, the PDP has also appealed for calm and some members have questioned the wisdom of establishing the Tetovo university without recognition by the Macedonian Education Ministry. However, the more radical faction of the PDP, which is based in the town of Tetovo, promotes the institution as the focal point for Albanian nationalism. 'This is the building of an institution for Albanians in Macedonia,' said Arben Djeferi, a leader of the PDP faction. 'This is a part of our future and we are investing in this kind of political work. We have asked to be incorporated into the education system, but they (the Macedonian government) refused. We do not accept that the university will remain a private institution,' he said. Emilija Simoska, Macedonia's minister of education, agrees there is an urgent need for Albanian language instruction at the university level. 'Four hundred Albanian students registered for the Tetovo university proves this,' she said. 'I will soon present to Parliament a draft law for private higher education (in Albanian) and I expect the complete cooperation from Parliament.' Simoska said the Tetovo university could never be a publically funded institution, but must be 'privately funded' to prevent the creation of 'communal ghettos.' Despite Simoska's stance, the Macedonian Interior Ministry has vowed it will use all means necessary to prevent the Tetovo university from operating.
