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| Shqipërim and Nagip Arifi waving the Albanian flags in the respective municipalities in Serbia |
The raising of the Albanian flag in the municipalities of Presheva and Bujanovac by their mayors, Shqipërim and Nagip Arifi, has sparked reactions in the Serbian media.
Novosti, in its reporting on this act by the two Albanian mayors on the occasion of Flag Day, emphasizes that they will be fined according to Serbian laws, which prohibit the display of the emblem or flag of a foreign state on state buildings of the Republic of Serbia, except in cases allowed by an international treaty.
The President of Presheva, Shqiprim Arifi, announced said on Albanian media that despite the fines, he has not stopped raising the flag since taking office.
"In Serbia, it is de facto a violation of the law. Every year we receive a fine of between 1,000 and 1,500 euros, it is a personal fine. I am sentenced as Shqipërim, not as a mayor. On the contrary, it is a motivation that we survive in those Albanian lands. Since I was elected mayor of the Presheva Valley, I have raised the flag. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We have been attacked, massacred, and our flag is peaceful. We have not entered foreign properties in Serbia or elsewhere. We do it openly. There is certainly a procedure until the fine comes; it is expected because the laws are shaped that way. But there is also a mentality that exists in Serbia that sees Albanians as second-class people."
Meanwhile, Bujanovačke reports that the flags were raised on Monday evening, just before the two leaders of both municipalities traveled to Tirana to celebrate the national holiday.
According to them, unlike previous years when the mayor of Bujanovac personally placed the flag of Albania on the balcony of the municipal building, on the 111th Anniversary of Independence, Nevzad Lutfiu, a former councilor in the Municipal Assembly, had the honor.
Due to the display of the Albanian flag, the police have filed charges against the heads of municipalities, officials, and directors of public institutions for years, who have been convicted of violating Article 41, paragraph 1, point 3, of the Law on the appearance, use of the emblem, flag, and anthem of the Republic of Serbia.
The law stipulates that a legal entity is fined from 50,000 to 500,000 dinars for committing this offense.