Albanian-language students protest, police release three Albanian youth

Young people were released after the identification and receiving statements, but apparently have not escaped measures to undermine order and public calm, media in northern Macedonia write.

The incident occurred shortly before student protesters arrived in front of the Justice Ministry.

The clash allegedly started after a provocation by a Macedonian youth, which brought the reaction of two young Albanians. Meanwhile, one of the protest organisers, Mevlan Ademi, called for full implementation of the Language Use Law, stressing that any deviation or adoption of new laws not harmonised with this law constitutes a setback for Albanians.

He said students' demands should be based on the existing law, not on the creation of new mechanisms or commissions. “If Macedonian students have 10 exams in Macedonian language, we do not request 10 new commissions or 10 new laws, but only a solution based on current law”, he said.

A day earlier, the second protest of Albanian students in northern Macedonia was held in Skopje, which require that the jurisdictional exam and other state exams be conducted in Albanian.