2178 Macedonian and Greek Minorities to Boycott the Census in Albania April 12, 2001 2178 Macedonian and Greek minority in Albania decided to boycott the population census that started on April 1 this year, reports Radio Deutsche Welle. According to the President of the Association of Macedonians in Albania - Edmond Temelkov, reason for this decision is the absence of the option "Macedonian" in the census lists. If this omission is not corrected, Macedonians in Albania will boycott next parliamentary elections as well, stated Temelkov. As he said, there are four Macedonian organizations in Albania : Mir (Peace), Bratstvo (Brotherhood), Med (Honey) and Prespa and they all agree to boycott the census. There are as much as 350.000 Macedonians in Albania but only 5.000 are officially recognized by the Albanian State. Macedonians are mostly inhabiting the regions of Prespa, Pogradec, Tirana, Elbasan, Korca and other cities in Albania. Except for Prespa , there are no other schools in Albania with Macedonian curriculum. Macedonian minority in Albania is in difficult situation with almost no possibilities to preserve their mother language, said Temelkov for Radio Deutsche Welle.
