Pendarovski demands sanctions for "nationalist provocations" during Kurti's visit

2023-08-13 19:09:44, Kosova & Bota CNA

Pendarovski demands sanctions for "nationalist provocations" during

Stevo Pendarovski

The President of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, has requested the sanctioning of the leaders of the municipalities of Çairi and Tetova, for what he said, "nationalist provocations that propose chauvinistic ideas of large states" during the visit of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, on Friday , on August 11 in Tetovo and Chair of Skopje.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti stayed in these two municipalities inhabited by Albanian population, at the invitation of the mayor of Çairi, Visar Ganiu, and that of Tetova, Bilall Kasami. Kurti participated in the inauguration of a road with the name of the activity, Adem Demaçi in Çair, while in Tetovo he participated in the opening of a road in the Tetovo Highlands.

During this visit, Kurti and the head of Tetova also spoke about the need to open a tunnel with a length of about 6 kilometers, which would connect Tetova with Prizren.

Kurti was welcomed with Albanian iconography, flags and other Albanian national symbols.

"The placement of provocative nationalist iconography, which promotes chauvinistic ideas of large states, represents the incitement of hatred and ethnic intolerance, which undoubtedly attack the basic principles and values ??of the Framework Agreement as well as the concept of Macedonia as a multi-ethnic state", it was said in the reaction of the Macedonian president, Stevo Pendarovski.

He also reacted to "non-compliance with the Law on the use of state symbols of North Macedonia".

"Organizers of public gatherings in Tetovo and Çair should be legally sanctioned for violating the legal provisions on the use of the national flag and anthem and the flags and symbols of the communities, completely ignoring the symbols of the state. In this regard, I call on the competent bodies to carry out the aforementioned procedures as soon as possible", says the reaction of Pendarovski, who also raised dilemmas about the violation of the procedures for naming the street in Çair after Adem Demaç.

"The way of realizing the idea of ??renaming the road in the municipality of Çair contradicts the principle of democratic debate and respect for the historical heritage of all communities in the state. In this sense, I expect the competent inspection services to check whether the principle of double majority has been respected when making the decision, where the votes of the communities that are not the majority in that municipality should also be included", it was said in the written reaction of to the president of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, on Sunday, August 13.

Izet Mejhiti, former chairman of Çairi, now chairman of the new Democratic Movement party, with whose representatives Kurti met, reacted to these statements.

"I think that this visit should be viewed positively, since joint projects were promoted, such as the Tetovo-Prizren road, which will bring people together, contribute to economic development and greater tourism. I will ask you to think more positively. I see that at any cost you want to find something. It was a rally. It happens to us every day, I also see maps from 'Greater Macedonia'. We were also in the municipality of Tetova, where there are Macedonian, Albanian and municipal flags in front of the municipality building. If we want to see them, we have to make trouble at all costs," Mejhiti said.

He emphasized that the example of naming the street after "Adem Demaçi" should not be a problem, since according to him, it is about a person with European values, winner of the Sakharov Prize shared by the European Parliament and a fighter for human rights and freedoms and national of the Kosovar Albanians.

Apart from President Stevo Pendarovski, other Macedonian parties have also reacted to the visit of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, while the "Left" party has demanded that Kurti be declared "Persona non grata" (unwanted person)./REL