Skopje, 7 June 2024 (MIA) – President of the Parliament, Afrim Gashi, in a Facebook post Friday cleared up his remarks given in an interview with a Kosovo TV station, noting his homeland is North Macedonia. 

“As regards the question about my homeland, I’m aware of the accusations and distortion by different media outlets trying to attract attention. As President of the Parliament of all citizens in the Republic of North Macedonia, I’d like to stress that Afrim Gashi is born in Skopje, where he lives and works with his family, and his homeland is North Macedonia. Let me explain to the public – my correct statement in the interview was ‘Kosovo is the birthplace or the fatherland of my parents and I respect it as such due to them,’” says Gashi. 

The Albanian language, he adds, uses a compound combining the words mother and land and what matters to me is how we perceive the country, is there is progress or setback. 

“I believe we understand each other very well so as not to seek detailed explanation about the terms, such as birthplace, fatherland or motherland, because the Albanian language uses a compound combining the words mother and land. What matters to me, through our actions, to show how we perceive our country, our dedication, what our contribution is and to make a difference between those who build and enrich it and those who destroy and steal from it. The citizens have no use from claims and remarks about patriotism and we’re not here to compete who is the bigger patriot. I do not enjoy in such debates and this is my final statement on the matter,” Gashi writes on Facebook.

Yesterday, PM-designate Hristijan Mickoski said Speaker Afrim Gashi should apologize to the citizens if he had said that his homeland was Kosovo.

“I haven’t heard Afrim Gashi’s statement. I think his homeland is Macedonia. I’ve heard him say personally in our talks that our joint homeland is our joint Macedonia. If he had said that, he should apologize to the citizens as soon as possible,” Mickoski stated. 

Photo: MIA archive