The largest ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) has announced it will now focus on implementing green policies in the country, while claiming it has successfully achieved the party’s other priorities during their over 15 years in power.
BDI leader Ali Ahmeti announced the party’s new direction from Skopje, one of the most polluted cities in Europe, on World Environment Day and his party’s 19th anniversary.
“A young girl, Greta Thunberg, travelled the world raising the alarm on climate change and environmental policies, and all opened their doors to her. It’s now time that we open our doors wide and embrace policies for a green, secure, developed and healthy future. This is what you, the youth, demand,” Ahmeti told a group of supporters on Saturday.
North Macedonia is the most polluted country in Europe, according to the WHO. Tetovo and Skopje were ranked the first and the fourth most polluted cities in the continent in 2020 by Numbeo, a global database that aggregates users’ reports.
“Today […] we are launching a new policy, a new way of doing politics by direct engagement that goes beyond ethnic rights, development and [EU] integration objectives; a policy for environmental justice and quality of life,” Ahmeti announced.
He blamed both the people and institutions for the pollution, and urged everyone to join his party’s plight for a green country, and to leave aside ethnic and other differences.
Ahmeti led an armed insurgency against Macedonian authorities in 2001, demanding more rights for the ethnic Albanian minority, which constitutes more than one-fourth of the country’s population.
The conflict ended with the signing of the Ohrid Agreement in August 2001, which foresaw that the rights of the Albanian minority must be improved within four years.
Ahmeti’s BDI has been part of all coalition governments since the signing, with the exception of the period between 2006 and 2008. In addition, for many years, the party has led the Ministry of Environment, including in the current government.
The BDI leader claimed to have successfully met his party’s objectives to date, in particular the successful implementation of the Ohrid Agreement 20 years after its signing. Some of the achievements Ahmeti highlighted in this framework were the opening of an Albanian language university, the use of Albanian symbols and language in some public institutions, fair representation of Albanians, as well as North Macedonia’s membership into NATO and progress in the country’s path to EU integration.
It will now prioritize the implementation of the EU’s Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, which includes an economic and investment plan for the region.
The move comes a few months ahead of the October local elections, and foretells the focus of the BDI’s electoral campaign.
Rival parties representing ethnic Albanians claim that the Ohrid Agreement has not been properly implemented, and blame the BDI for the alleged failure, as it has continuously been in power alongside one of the two largest parties in North Macedonia.
A spokesperson for the Alliance for Albanians, Flakron Bexheti told Alsat TV that Ahmeti’s BDI and its ministers are responsible for reducing green areas in the country and cutting down forests. He added that major cities lack running water and sanitation, while Albanians also have to deal with violations of their rights by state institutions.
Opposition MP Skender Rexhepi slammed Ahmeti’s claim regarding the fulfillment of the Ohrid Agreement, arguing that prisons in the country have an unproportionally large number of Albanian inmates, and that Albanians in many parts of the country live in misery.
Arianit Xhaferi, an activist for the Eco Guerilla, ridiculed the party’s decision to go green, and accused it of having destroyed the environment during its stay in power. “I would be less surprised if the Pope converted to Islam,” he concluded.
In the 2020 general elections, Ahmeti ran with another grand promise: that he would enter the coalition only if the prime minister was Albanian. His party got most of the Albanian vote but was unable to fulfill his promise. Instead, they were promised by Zoran Zaev, the leader of the governing coalition, to appoint an Albania premier in the last 100 days of their term.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev greeted Ahmeti’s announcement on going green, and commended him on ending policies guided by ethnicity.
