TIRANA, August 21 – Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted to the cultural event held in Pustec on August 20. Organisers played the North Macedonian national anthem but omitted the Albanian national anthem.
In a post on X, Rama described the incident as a “meaningful parody”. He said Pustec Mayor Pali Kolefski had asked in advance for the Albanian anthem to be played. Organisers ignored his request. Kolefski later apologised, although Rama said he was not responsible.
Meanwhile, Rama praised the mayor as a “worthy statesman and citizen of European Albania”. He stressed the importance his government attaches to Albania’s Macedonian community. Minorities, he said, are not a statistic but a “national asset”. Minority citizens have the same rights and freedoms as everyone else.
At the same time, Rama criticised what he called recurring episodes of “Balkan national-folklorism” in Albania. He said such incidents do not threaten the country’s sovereignty or political balance.
For his part, the prime minister urged Albanians not to respond in kind. He said Albania and “Balkan Europe” must not lower their values to the level of what he called the “parody of Pustec”.
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