A FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT BEFORE THE OHRID AGREEMENT?

AN ANALYSIS OF THE 1993 MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE LOCAL SERBS

Abstract

The article explores a relatively forgotten legal document signed in 1993 in an attempt of the
Macedonian government to regulate certain aspects of the status of the Serbian community in
the country. The “Agreed Minutes” represent a conflict prevention agreement in which the
local Serbs have obliged to realize their demands within the Republic of Macedonia and on
the other hand, the Government has obliged to equalize the constitutional status of the Serbs
with other minorities in Macedonia, to provide primary and high school education in the
native tongue and to guarantee freedom of religion including free choice of church. The paper
focused on all elements of the document including its drafting, content and official reactions.
The author argues that the document represented a turning point in the regulation of certain
aspects of the status of national communities in the country beyond the framework
established by the 1991 Constitution and a predecessor of the Ohrid framework agreement
signed 7 years.