北马其顿2001年6月结束族群冲突后，已经走过25年[1]。那场冲突造成72名士兵和警察丧生，阿尔巴尼亚起义分子伤亡约100至数百人不等，超过17万人流离失所[1]。2001年签署的奥赫里德框架协议通过权力分享机制维持了国家的政治稳定，阿尔巴尼亚籍政党民主融合联盟(DUI)的领导人阿赫迈蒂也从武装组织民族解放军(NLA)的领导人转变为政治人物[1]。
然而，表面上的和平并未带来真正的民族和解。阿尔巴尼亚人占北马其顿180万人口的四分之一以上[1]，但两个族群之间的分歧依然存在。阿尔巴尼亚籍官员奥斯曼尼指出，"族群紧张不是从冲突开始，而是当一个社群逐渐失去对制度平等对待它的信心时开始"[1]。和平建设组织Pro Peace的代表申克则表示，"种族距离在增加，教育系统仍保持隔离，两个社群对彼此的理解越来越少"[1]。这些困境因欧盟一体化谈判停滞而进一步加剧，北马其顿虽在2005年成为欧盟候选国，但相关谈判至今未正式开始[1]。
Twenty-five years have passed since ethnic conflict ended in North Macedonia in June 2001, yet genuine interethnic reconciliation remains elusive [1]. While the Ohrid Framework Agreement has maintained political stability through power-sharing mechanisms, tensions between Macedonians and Albanians persist, with the education system still operating along ethnic lines [1].
Albanians comprise more than a quarter of North Macedonia's population of 1.8 million [1]. The 2001 conflict claimed 72 soldiers and police officers, with Albanian insurgent casualties estimated between 100 and several hundred, while displacing over 170,000 people [1]. Among those transformed by the conflict's aftermath is Naser Nureddin, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), who transitioned from heading the National Liberation Army to becoming a political figure [1].
The country's path toward European integration has stalled, complicating efforts to bridge divides. North Macedonia became an EU candidate in 2005, but formal negotiations have never begun [1]. According to Albanian official Osmani, "ethnic tensions do not originate from conflict itself, but rather when one community progressively loses confidence that institutions treat it equally" [1]. Representatives from Pro Peace, a reconciliation organization, warn that "racial distance is increasing, the education system remains segregated, and the two communities have increasingly less understanding of each other" [1].