The Albanian coalition partner of Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has imposed his will to establish a parallel Albanian Academy of Sciences in North Macedonia, BGNES reported.
The country thus becomes perhaps the first in the world with two academies of sciences that will function simultaneously - a Macedonian and an Albanian one.
The mayors of the municipalities of Tetovo, Gostivar, Jelino and Cair support the initiative and will finance it. They point out that "the investment provides an important space for scientific work and cultural affirmation of the Albanian community".
The Mayor of Tetovo, Bilal Kasami, said that the establishment of the Academy is "a long-awaited step towards strengthening Albanian identity".
"It is time for our community to have an institution that takes care of our cultural and scientific heritage. Support from the municipalities is only the first step," Kasami said.
The idea is that the Albanian Academy will later be funded by the state budget.
BGNES reminds that the Albanian bloc coalition "Vredi" sparked a fierce debate among the citizens of the country with its proposal.
In July, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski vowed not to allow the idea to be implemented, saying, "The position of VMRO-DPMNE is clear. The future is not in divisions, but in unity."
The former president of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts /MANU/, Vlado Kambovski, reacted strongly against the plan to create a parallel structure.
"It is impossible for such a structure to exist in a country where there is already an IAMU. There cannot be two academies in one country. No country in the world has two national academies of arts and sciences. Health associations can be made, but there cannot be two national academies," he said.
He pointed out that scientific and artistic institutions should be based on common scientific and cultural values and not on ethnic or political bias, because this could lead to divisions and conflicts in the scientific community. | BGNES
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