The non-playing of Albania’s anthem during the visit of PM Mickoski to Pustec has prompted differing reactions from Rama and Albania’s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. According to the Albanian PM, it was an unintentional omission.
“The Mayor of Pustec, Pali Kolefski, requested in advance that the Albanian anthem be played. He was ignored and subsequently apologized for a mistake that was not his own”, Rama said.
On the other hand, the Ministry’s stance is that the failure to play the anthem was a serious omission and a deviation from protocol rules and institutional ethics. However, one of the organizers of the Prespa Festival event, former Pustec Mayor Edmond Temelko, told Kanal 5 both anthems had been played.
According to him, North Macedonia’s anthem was played at the beginning and Albania’s anthem was played at the end, which was a technical oversight. He also released a video that, as he noted, serves as proof that the Albanian anthem was indeed played before the attending guests.