Skopje, 30 May 2024 (MIA) - The use of the Albanian language in official communication is guaranteed by the Constitution, the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Afrim Gashi, said in a response Thursday to the complaint filed by Culture Minister Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska over the fact Gashi took his oath in office first in Albanian, and then in Macedonian.

“The Speaker of Parliament is realizing the right to use the Albanian language in official communication, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, the valid laws and the provisions of Parliament. He will make use of this right throughout his term. Speaker Gashi strives for all parliamentary procedures, in line with the rules and responsibilities stemming from the legislation, to respect and promote our multicultural society,” Gashi’s Office said in its response. 

SDSM MP and outgoing Minister of Culture, Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska, announced Wednesday that she filed a complaint to the Inspection Sector at the Ministry of Culture against the new Speaker of Parliament, Afrim Gashi, noting that he should have taken his oath of office in Macedonian first, and then Albanian.

“The Law on the Use of the Macedonian Language is a result of our commitments and policies for the affirmation and proper use of the Macedonian language. We can’t and mustn’t remain silent over the scandalous swearing-in of the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament. That’s why I have already filed a complaint to the Inspection Sector at the Ministry of Culture and I will make use of all mechanisms currently available for the protection and manner of use of the Macedonian language. I expected the current President of the country, [Gordana] Siljanovska-Davkova, with whom we finalized the text of the Law on the Use of the Macedonian language when she was an MP, to react to this behavior and firmly condemn the act of not taking an oath of office in the first official language of the country,” Kostadinovska-Stojchevska told Sloboden Pechat. 

Photo: MIA Archive