The Constitutional Court of North Macedonia has annulled a 2007 decision that gave 11 streets and a central square in Tetovo the names of prominent Albanian historical figures and events, effectively restoring several names from the former Yugoslav era.
The ruling was adopted with five votes in favor, while the two Albanian judges and the judge representing the Turkish community voted against it.
The case was initiated by the Association of Veterans of the National Liberation and Anti-Fascist War of Macedonia (1941–1945), which argued that the renaming of the streets had been carried out without government approval and in violation of legislation regulating the naming of streets, squares, and public infrastructure.
As a result of the decision, names such as “Iliria,” “Dervish Cara,” “Mehmet Pashë Deralla,” “Congress of Manastir,” “Martyrs of the Nation,” “Abdyl Frashëri,” and “Sami Frashëri” have been revoked. These names had been approved by the Municipal Council of Tetovo in 2007 to reflect the city’s Albanian cultural and historical heritage.
In their place, several names associated with the Yugoslav period are being restored, including “Marshal Tito,” “JNA,” “Lenin,” “Ivo Lola Ribar,” and “Radovan Coniq.”
According to published information, the Albanian names had largely appeared on street signs over the past 19 years but had never been fully incorporated into official state documentation, a legal technicality that ultimately became central to the court’s ruling.
Following the decision, the initiator of the case, Darijan Sotirovski, welcomed the outcome on social media, describing it as the end of what he called “imposed and illegal names” in Tetovo.
The ruling has triggered strong reactions among Albanian political representatives and citizens, many of whom view it as an attack on Albanian identity and a setback for interethnic equality in the country.
The Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) condemned the decision, describing it as a dangerous step backward that threatens the principles established after the 2001 conflict.
“This is an attack on every Albanian value and on the reality built after 2001. There is an attempt to restore an old discriminatory reality,” BDI stated.
Tetovo Deputy Mayor Albi Qamili also criticized both the Constitutional Court and BDI, accusing them of contributing to a situation that has now endangered the status of the Albanian street names.
According to Qamili, the municipality had anticipated such a scenario and had already established a Commission for the Renaming of Streets, which is currently working on a comprehensive and legally sustainable solution that reflects Tetovo’s social and demographic reality.
“We have already taken steps to address this situation. The commission is working intensively and will soon propose a comprehensive solution that reflects Tetovo’s societal reality and ensures that Albanian street names are protected through proper legal procedures,” Qamili said.
He added that the municipality intends to ensure that Albanian historical and cultural figures continue to be represented in Tetovo’s public spaces, but in a manner that cannot be challenged through future legal proceedings.
The decision comes amid heightened tensions surrounding Albanian-language rights and recent protests over Albanian-language examinations in North Macedonia. As a result, the ruling has generated widespread dissatisfaction among Albanians across the country, with many interpreting it as part of a broader pattern of challenges to Albanian representation, language rights, and historical recognition in public life.
