The Albanian BESA party came out with another request, linked with the Government’s initiative to amend the Constitution in line with the Bulgarian demands. According to BESA, the position of the Albanian language in Macedonia will have to change as the Bulgarian nation is added to the Constitution.

Other Albanian parties have also asked that the process of amending the Constitution is expanded with a controversial article that the Albanian language is made co-official, along with the Macedonian language. According to the 2001 Ohrid peace treaty, the Albanian language is not named in the Constitution, but it provides for local official use of a language spoken by at least 20 percent of the population. Yet, some of the ruling Albanian parties have agreed that making this initiative now could complicate the already difficult process of meeting the Bulgarian demands.

BESA now goes a step further. It demands a constitutional amendment that will declare the Albanian language as co-official, including in international relations.