VZCZCXRO6434
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0872/01 3061154
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021154Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6667
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0072
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR TF FALCON
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEHSQ/USDAO SKOPJE MK
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000872 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SCUL MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: RAISING THE RED FLAG? ALBANIANS REACT 
TO CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION 
 
REF: 2005 SKOPJE 905 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Ethnic Albanian parties have reacted with a 
firestorm of criticism of the Constitutional Court's October 
24 decision annulling some provisions of the 2005 Law on 
Flags and Symbols, the final legislative piece of the 
Framework Agreement (FWA) which allowed eAlbanian-dominated 
municipalities to fly the Albanian flag (as a symbol of their 
ethnic community) next to the state flag of Macedonia. 
Opposition DUI decried the decision as undermining the FWA, 
while governing coalition partner DPA pledged to submit a new 
law on flags.  Ethnic Albanian mayors vowed they would not 
implement the decision, and two eAlbanian Constitutional 
Court judges, including the President of the Court, resigned 
after the decision was issued.  The government is waiting for 
the decision to enter into force before deciding how to 
proceed with implementation, but has confirmed our view that 
the ruling does not unduly restrict eAlbanians' right to fly 
their national flag in municipalities, and that it extends 
that right to other minorities as well.  End summary. 
 
ALBANIANS REACT HARSHLY TO COURT DECISION ON LAW ON FLAGS 
 
¶2. (SBU) Macedonia's Constitutional Court published a 
decision October 24 annulling several provisions of the 2005 
Law on the Use of Flags and Symbols, sparking outrage and 
harsh condemnations from ethnic Albanian parties DUI 
(opposition) and DPA (governing coalition).  DUI harshly 
criticized the decision, which limits in some circumstances 
the conditions under which ethnic flags can be flown.  DPA 
called the decision "tragicomic" and -- in a flash of the 
truly  absurd -- blamed the decision on DUI, despite the fact 
that the DUI-affiliated judge on the Court had voted against 
the decision.  In the same breath, however, DPA President 
Thaci pledged to compile a new law on flags and symbols that 
would "harmonize the interests of Albanians, Macedonians, and 
state interests." 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a meeting with the Ambassador November 1, DUI 
President Ali Ahmeti characterized the ruling as a "political 
decision" which had damaged the Framework Agreement (FWA). 
He argued that the court's majority vote on the ruling had 
been divided along ethnic lines, and that the decision should 
have been voted instead with a qualified, or Badinter, 
majority.  NOTE: While the Flag Law was passed with a 
Badinter majority in July 2005, completing the last 
legislative requirement of the FWA (reftel), there is nothing 
in the Constitution or in the FWA that suggests judicial 
review of such legislation requires a Badinter vote by 
Constitutional Court judges. END NOTE. 
 
ETHNIC ALBANIAN MAYORS UP IN ARMS 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite the fact that some eAlbanian municipalities 
that were previously precluded from flying the Albanian flag 
in front of public buildings can now do so because the right 
has been extended to all ethnic communities, ethnic Albanian 
mayors in more than a dozen municipalities vowed they would 
not comply with the decision.  Most eAlbanian commentators 
and analysts were convinced that the ruling would prohibit 
the flying of the Albanian flag at the local level, although 
the decision clearly allows it to be flown in all but a few 
limited instances. 
 
TWO JUDGES RESIGN, OPENING THE WINDOW FOR GOM COURT-PACKING 
 
¶5. (SBU) In a reaction to the eAlbanian uproar, two of the 
Constitutional Court judges resigned, including the 
DUI-affiliated president of the court and an eAlbanian judge 
formerly affiliated with DPA.  Both judges complained that 
the decision had not been adopted by a Badinter vote. 
According to DUI VP Arifi, the party had tried to persuade 
both judges to remain on the court, fearing that their 
departure would open a window of opportunity for the 
government to "pack the court" as it replaced the judges. In 
fact, the remaining members of the court moved quickly to 
replace the president, voting by a 2/3 majority to elect 
Trendafil Ivanovski.  The two vacant seats remain empty, but 
 
SKOPJE 00000872  002 OF 002 
 
 
the government is likely to push for them to be quickly 
filled. 
 
WHAT'S RIGHT ABOUT THE DECISION? 
 
¶6. (SBU) In fact, the Constitutional Court in its ruling 
extended the right to fly ethnic flags to all minority 
communities in a given municipality (rather than just the 
"community in the majority", as written in the 2005 law).  It 
also reaffirmed the right of ethnic Albanians to fly the 
state flag of Albania (red background with black 
double-headed eagle) as their ethnic flag.  In addition, the 
court dismissed a 2005 appeal by the center-right nationalist 
VMRO-NP party to ban the use of the Albanian flag as 
incompatible with the state's sovereignty. 
 
GOVERNMENT BIDING TIME ON IMPLEMENTATION 
 
¶7. (SBU) So far the government is biding its time before it 
announces steps to implement the decision.  The court ruling 
first must be entered in the Official Gazette for a period of 
seven days, after which it enters into force.  The Justice 
Ministry then drafts implementing language, a process which 
could take weeks or months.  In discussions of the ruling the 
week of October 29, both PM Gruevski's Chief of Staff and 
Constitutional Court Judge Mirjana Trajkovska  confirmed our 
interpretation that minorities would still be able to fly 
their ethnic flags, except in certain circumstances.  The 
PM's Chief of Staff added that the GOM would approach 
implementation of the decision cautiously, with enforcement 
occurring on a case-by-case basis. 
 
COMMENT: MUCH ADO.... 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Constitutional Court ruling, in our view, does 
not undermine the FWA.  Article 7 of the FWA gives local 
authorities the right to "place in front of public buildings 
emblems marking the identity of the community in the majority 
of the municipality, respecting international rules and 
usages."  The 2005 law went well beyond this language in 
extending the right to fly the flag in venues other than 
public buildings, to include flying it inside those 
buildings.  The court's decision further extends this right 
to minority communities not/not in the majority.  The 
decision also draws on the Macedonian Constitution, the 
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and common practice 
in Croatia and Slovenia, among other countries, in its legal 
arguments.  As such, the ruling appears to have been driven 
more by legal principles than by political bias.  That said, 
the Albanian flag, along with the Albanian language, occupies 
a special place among ethnic Albanians in Macedonia. 
Implementation of even this legitimate judicial decision will 
demand sensitivity from all authorities. 
MILOVANOVIC