[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5921-H5923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RIGHTS OF THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Nadler] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Gilman].
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues today in expressing 
support for those ethnic Albanian citizens of

[[Page H5922]]

the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who seek higher education 
provided in the Albanian language.
  The Macedonian Government does indeed offer instruction in the 
Albanian language and the language of other national minorities in the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the primary and secondary 
levels of education.
  I see no reason therefore, why classes at the university level of 
education, provided in the Albanian language, should not also be 
offered to those of Macedonia's citizens who desire them.
  In fact, it can only assist the growth and consolidation of democracy 
in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to ensure fair and 
equitable treatment for all of its citizens, regardless of ethnic 
background.
  I have introduced House Concurrent Resolution 103, which expresses 
the Congress' support for equal and fair access to higher education in 
the Albanian language in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
  At this time, that measure enjoys the support of a dozen of my 
colleagues in the House of Representatives.
  As the language of House Concurrent Resolution 103 points out, the 
Macedonian Government should turn to the United States, the 
Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of 
Europe and other outside parties for assistance in making available 
higher education in the Albanian language.
  We certainly understand that the Macedonian Government does not at 
this time enjoy vast revenues.
  However, where there is a will, there is a way, and the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia can certainly approach the United States 
and other parties for support in this matter.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would once again like to urge the 
government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to do all it 
can to respond to the desires of its ethnic Albanian citizens in this 
matter.
  I am sure it would be a positive step for all of the peoples of that 
country and for the cause of democracy in the entire Balkans region.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of 
the American people the terrible deprivation of academic and cultural 
freedom being suffered by the Albanian people in the Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM.
  We have learned only too well in the last few years, the price of 
ethnic intolerance in the former Yugoslavia. In Bosnia, so-called 
ethnic cleansing has resulted in mass murder, untold human suffering. 
The world community is still attempting to put the pieces together in 
that once beautiful and harmonious corner of the world. As we all 
listen to the evidence being placed in evidence before the 
International Tribunal in the Hague, we must recall that silence in the 
face of oppression and intolerance is an invitation to disaster.
  Similarly, repression of a people's language and legitimate 
aspirations can be a precursor to, and indeed a cause of, the sort of 
ethnic violence that has gripped that region for too long. Albanians 
living in the former Yugoslavia have every reason for concern. In the 
regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina in the state of Serbia and Montenegro, 
we have seen the violent results of the suppression of ethnic 
minorities.
  People of Albania descent make up 23 percent of FYROM's population. 
They have a proud and rich heritage. They also wish to learn in their 
own language, Albanian. This is neither a surprising nor a particularly 
outrageous aspiration. Yet, this fundamental aspiration has been 
neglected and even repressed by the government. Ethnic Albanians who 
are deeply concerned about their standing in FYROM and their ability to 
fulfill their educational aspirations point out that at the 
universities at Skopje and Bitola, only 2 percent of the students are 
ethnic Albanians, although 23 percent of the population is Albanian.
  Albanians have attempted to open a university with Albanian language 
instruction, according to the prevailing law, and have been turned back 
with bureaucratic intransigence and brute force.
  It has not always been this way. In fact, the former Yugoslavia 
established an Albanian-language university in Prishtina, in Kosovo, in 
1974. This university was closed by the Serbian government in 1990, 
depriving ethnic Albanians of this fundamental educational opportunity.
  The Albanian population of FYROM attempted to rectify this situation 
by applying to the Ministry of Education in October 1994 for permission 
to open an Albanian-language university. That request was ignored--not 
accorded even so much as an acknowledgement.
  Frustrated, Albanian students protested the lack of educational 
opportunities at the Pedagogical Academy of the University of Skopje in 
November of 1994. The student strike in support of Albanian-language 
instruction was organized by these students who believed that such 
preparation would enable them to better educate ethnic Albanian 
students at all grade levels.
  Without a response from the Education Ministry, educators attempted 
to open an Albanian language university in Tetovo, FYROM, and were 
suppressed by the police. An additional attempt was made to found an 
Albanian-language university in February 1995, and this time the force 
used by police resulted in the death of an ethnic Albanian and the 
wounding of 28 other individuals.
  Our former colleague, and human rights activist, Joe DioGuardi, who 
serves as the volunteer president of the Albanian American Civic 
League, was in Tetovo at that time. Mr. DioGuardi was joined by my 
constituent, Ms. Shirley Cloyes, who is also a dedicated human rights 
activist. On their return, they reported on the events at Tetovo to 
Chairman Gilman, who subsequently introduced House Concurrent 
Resolution 103 expressing the support of the Congress for the 
university at Tetovo.
  The former rector of the Albanian language university in Prishtina, 
Kosovo, a distinguished professor and one of the founding group of the 
Albanian-language university in Tetovo, Dr. Fadil Sulejmani, was in the 
United States last year. He met with officials at our State Department 
and with members of Congress to describe the work they are trying to do 
over there and of their concern that young ethnic Albanians have over 
their ability to study in their own language and to enjoy the sort of 
academic freedom and cultural studies that we in the United States take 
for granted.
  Our colleague, the distinguished Chairman of the House International 
Relations Committee, Ben Gilman, has introduced House Concurrent 
Resolution 103, which expresses Congress' support for equal and fair 
access to higher education in the Albanian language in FYROM. Chairman 
Gilman's resolution states the distressing history and gives a clear 
account of the situation.
  The resolution will place the Congress in firm support of academic 
freedom and the right of Albanians in FYROM to study in their own 
language, and in particular in support of the efforts to provide 
university-level classes in the Albanian language at Tetovo, Macedonia.
  Mr. Speaker, we have seen too clearly what happens when governments 
fail to recognize the fundamental rights of ethnic minorities. The 
suppression of language and culture, the inability of people to learn 
and write in their own languages, have generated much of the ethnic 
strife that is tearing apart societies around the globe.
  This nation has succeeded, indeed this nation has thrived, on its 
tolerance and respect for different ethnic groups and their languages 
and cultures. It is a lesson that needs to be learned not just abroad, 
but, regrettably, here at home too. Tolerance and diversity don't 
foster division. It is when people are unable to express their cultures 
and speak their language that they resort to separatism.
  I join my colleagues in urging the government of FYROM to respect the 
aspirations of the ethnic Albanian people and to recognize the 
University at Tetovo under the laws of FYROM as a legitimate expression 
of and to allow classes to be held at the university level in the 
Albanian language.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record remarks by Congressman 
Bilirakis:
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to touch upon the importance 
of having access to education. Education not only plays a vital role in 
the development of an individual, but also of a nation. Benjamin 
Disraeli noted in a speech to the House of Commons in 1874, that ``upon 
the education of the people of this country the fate of this country 
depends.''

[[Page H5923]]

  While we in the United States may sometimes complain about the 
skyrocketing costs of college tuition or the need for more classrooms, 
what we often take for granted is the fact that everyone has access to 
education. This is not always the case in other countries. For example, 
in countries such as Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, ethnic minorities are often denied access to education.
  Although international law and treaties signed by Albania guarantee 
ethnic Greeks a right to education in their native tongue, they are 
still denied equal access. Indeed, as Mrs. Porter, wife of Congressman 
John Porter of Illinois, pointed out to me in a letter dated December 
14, 1995: ``The oppression on the Greek minority in Northern Epirus is 
palpable. It is evident in the lack of Greek schools in towns and 
villages with predominately Greek populations and the denial by the 
government that such need exists.''
  While this situation troubles me, I am encouraged by the friendship 
and cooperation agreement that the two countries signed this March.
  In addition, to the situation in Albania, a similar situation exists 
for ethnic Albanians in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The 
Albanian-language University of Tetova still has not been officially 
recognized by the government. Ethnic Albanians are denied equal access 
to education. Indeed, as my friend and colleague, Congressman Gilman, 
stated last September, the government ``is not taking sufficient steps 
to ensure that those citizens from its considerable Albanian population 
are provided with adequate opportunities for higher education in the 
Albanian language.''
  Mr. Speaker, the challenge we face is to bridge the education and 
cultural gaps that exist in these countries to ensure that their 
respective ethnic minorities receive the education to which they are 
entitled. We must work to encourage removal of educational barriers, 
not only in the southern Balkans, but also in other parts of the world.

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