Polyparty-ism - Search for Common Ground

134
A slow but secure train?
Daut Dauti
The Ohrid Agreement started as an
express train and is now continuing as a
regular local train!
This analogy seams to get closest to
the truth. Because two years after its signing,
the Ohrid Framework Agreement is
moving like a train which is neither
express nor fast. In railway terminology
there is another type of train, a local train.
When passengers get on this train, they
should know what to expect-one long ride
with many station stops. If an express train
Skopje-Thessalonica would stop only in
the bigger cities, a local train would collect
passengers at every village station.
THE ABANDONING
OF THE "ITINERARY"
Two years are enough to evaluate one
process. If that process has its own implementation
plan, whose greater or lesser
failures are noted, then the evaluations for
its success fade.
The Ohrid Agreement, taken in context,
is one of the more dramatic events in
the recent history of the country. It was
preceded by a limited conflict which greatly
resembled an ethnic conflict. Due to the
local character of the crisis, this conflict
didn't worsen ethnic relations, therefore
the chances are more realistic that after the
Ohrid Agreement a more harmonious society
might be built. Its essence lies in the
fact that it was achieved with a consensus
of the most relevant parties in the country
(VMRO-DPMNE, DPA, DPP and SDUM)
and it was endorsed without reserve by all
international organs (UN, EU, NATO,
USA). One of the present political leaders,
Ali Ahmeti (DUI), would declare these
days that the history of Macedonia starts
with the Ohrid Agreement. No matter how
much negative criticism it gained in some
media and political circles, it contains one
truth: that this agreement really established
one foundation for a fortress, which,
if built without architectural mistakes, will
survive all the windstorms and earthquakes
of the time.
But apparently some of its architects,
from the moment they failed to achieve
their goal of remaining in power, have
started behaving rather dishonestly. The
ex-leader of VMRO-DPMNE promotes
the idea of territorial separation; Arben
Xhaferi promotes the idea of ethnic states
(articulated at the DPA congress in July as
the right for self-determination). These
actions prove that the challenges to full
implementation of the Agreement haven't
been completely overcome. Some mistakes
happened on the way towards implementation,
which gave the radical forces
an excuse to think that it can't be implemented.
The first mistake was made at the
beginning. Because of the unnecessary
political quarrels (from fear of loosing the
elections), some very sensitive items of the
achieved agreement were revised.
Therefore, the constitutional changes do
not correspond fully with the agreement
signed in Ohrid.
The second mistake was delaying the
timeframes. Some laws that should have
been voted on by the parliament even
before the elections were delayed. The initial
delay created space for timeframe
delays to seem normal as well as delays in
establishing the new executive and legislative
authorities.
The third mistake is the tendency to reexamine
what has already been achieved
by interpretation and new expertise. An
example is the approval of the regulation
of the work of the Parliament. There, the
right to officially use the Albanian language
was limited to discussions only, and
not in the leading of the meetings. (In the
Ohrid Agreement these kinds of limitations
are not present.) Rightfully addressed
at the political parties in power, DPA has
said that unnecessary bargaining is going
on over issues already defined in Ohrid.
The fourth is some discrepancies in
hiring within the public administration.
The opposition parties (VMRO-DPMNE
It started
"turbo,"
with
appointed
timeframes,
some shorter
some longer.
The UCK
disarmament
and the constitutional
changes were
realized
within the
optimal
deadline, but
everything
else is crawling.
No matter,
the
chances that
the realization
of the
Ohrid
Agreement
will fail are
small,
because
there is both
an internal
and external
political consensus
Two years of the ohrid agreement, August 2003