Centar Župa Municipality

Centar Župa Municipality
Општина Центар Жупа
Merkez Jupa Belediyesi
Rural municipality
Flag of Centar Župa Municipality
Flag
Official logo of Centar Župa Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Centar Župa Municipality
Coordinates: 41°29′N 20°35′E / 41.48°N 20.58°E / 41.48; 20.58
Country North Macedonia
Region Southwestern
Municipal seatCentar Župa
Government
 • MayorArijan Ibraim (DPT)
Population
 • Total
3,720
Official Language(s)
 • primaryMacedonian
 • secondaryTurkish
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)

Centar Župa (Macedonian: Центар Жупаⓘ; Turkish: Merkez Jupa) is a municipality in the western part of North Macedonia. Centar Župa is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Centar Župa Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistical Region.

History

After the Ottoman conquest in 1448, Kodžadžik was settled by Ottoman soldiers and Turkish nomads (Yörüks). The local church was converted to a mosque, and Kodžadžik, as part of the sanjak (district) Debra-i Bala, became a center that connected the southeast with Albania and the Adriatic Sea.[1]

When North Macedonia proclaimed its independence in 1991, the Macedonian state implemented nationalist politics, which aimed to assimilate Macedonian Muslims into a broader category of "Macedonians". The government banned education in Turkish in all regions to "prevent Turkification". This, however, was met with resistance by Muslims who did not support the association and wanted to learn Turkish and continue their education in Turkish. The protests failed, although one person applied to the European Court of Human Rights. The case revolved around rights to education in the mother tongue.[1]

Geography

The municipality borders Struga Municipality to the south, Debar Municipality to the east, north and west, and Albania to the west.

Demographics

Mothers tongues in the municipality include (2021):[2]

  • Turkish: 2,209 (59.4%)
  • Macedonian: 962 (25.9%)
  • Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources: 324 (9.5%)
  • Albanian: 192 (5.2%)
  • Others: 3 (0.1%)

Ethnic groups in the municipality according to the 2021 North Macedonia census:[3]

2002 2021
Number % Number %
TOTAL 6,519 100 3,720 100
Turks 5,226 80.17 2,899 77.93
Macedonians 814 12.49 236 6.34
Albanians 454 6.96 187 5.03
Bosniaks 1 0.03
Other / Undeclared / Unknown 25 0.38 43 1.15
Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources 354 9.52

References

  1. ^ a b Zadrożna, Anna (July 2017). "Reconstructing the past in a post-Ottoman village: Turkishness in a transnational context". Nationalities Papers. 45 (4): 524–539. doi:10.1080/00905992.2017.1287690.
  2. ^ 2021 census, municipality by mother tongue
  3. ^ "Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци" (PDF). stat.gov.mk. Retrieved 22 July 2022.