A pin of the Albanian flag placed on the jacket collar of MP Rijad Shaqiri, part of the Alliance for Albanians in North Macedonia party, has been perceived as a provocation by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickocski.
The latter expressed dissatisfaction with the MP’s failure to hold the symbol of North Macedonia on the floor of Parliament, telling him that this country pays for it.
On the other hand, Shaqiri reacted by saying that the flag is the symbol of our identity and dignity.
He added that when the national symbol is treated as a problem, while crime and hatred are relativized, “then we have a serious deviation of state priorities.”
“Albanians are not a provocation, they are a state-forming people and they demand responsibility, not excuses,” he said.
“During today’s debate in the parliamentary session, the Prime Minister was “provoked” by our national flag that I carried in my bag – the symbol of our identity and dignity. But he is not deterred by the pathological hatred that appears against Albanians on sports grounds. He is not deterred by the institutional silence in the face of calls and chants with Albanophobic content.
And above all, he did not give any concrete answer as to how 5 tons of cannabis crossed the border of North Macedonia without being noticed. When the national symbol is treated as a problem, while crime and hatred are relativized, then we have a serious deviation of state priorities. Albanians are not a provocation, they are a state-forming people and they demand responsibility, not excuses,” he wrote, attaching a video from the session.