North Macedonia's Minister of Economy and Labor, Besar Durmishi, has reacted in harsh tones to an alleged message from Albania's Foreign Minister, Ferit Hoxha, describing it as unacceptable and disappointing.
Durmishi referred to a published message from Hoxha, where the latter asked in a WhatsApp group "what are those Albanian idiots saying there?"
Durmishi demanded an immediate reaction and clarification from the authorities in Tirana, while calling on Minister Hoxha to publicly apologize for the offensive language used against Albanians in North Macedonia.
Besar Durmish's reaction:
The vocabulary of the Albanian Foreign Minister, Mr. Ferit Hoxha, who calls the Albanians of North Macedonia "idiots", is disappointing and unacceptable.
We expect an urgent reaction and clarification from official Tirana, while Minister Hoxha must apologize to the Albanians of North Macedonia for the insults he has caused. This kind of language violates every ethical and professional code and is scandalous for a state representative.
We remind Mr. Hoxha that he has a constitutional obligation to care for his compatriots living outside the borders of Albania.
The Albanians of North Macedonia are not neighbors from Tirana's beloved official Open Balkan project, but an inseparable part of the national trunk.
At the same time, the silence of the Albanian ambassador in Skopje, Mr. Denion Meidani, who instead of reacting to such language, has chosen to make him the spokesperson for several political parties in North Macedonia, is also disappointing.
