The Macedonian community in the Municipality of Pustec, through the Macedonian Alliance for European Integration (MAEI) party, expresses deep concern and strong opposition to the decision of the Albanian Government to open three reception centers for migrants on the territory of this municipality, specifically in the administrative unit of Zrnosko and at the sports fields in Pustec and in the village of Dolna Gorica.
-This decision stems from the normative act “On the approval of the National Contingency Plan for Mixed Migration Flows 2026–2028”, published in the Official Gazette, according to which, in the event of a crisis, the establishment of 20 reception centers for migrants on the territory of Albania over the next two years is envisaged for the management of migration flows. These centers are planned for migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, who use Albania as a transit country to the European Union, said Vasil Sterjovski, leader of the party, at today’s meeting with journalists in Korça, which was also attended by Atanas Ploca, deputy mayor of the Municipality of Pustec.
MAEI and the Macedonians in this municipality condemn the fact that this decision was made without any public consultations with the residents of the Macedonian community in the municipality of Pustec, without the involvement of the local government and without dialogue with local actors, which seriously violates the principles of local self-government, transparency and participatory democracy.
-We emphasize that all three areas planned for the construction of reception centers are located on the shores of Lake Prespa, while the entire territory of the Municipality of Pustec is part of the Prespa National Park, a protected area of particular ecological, cultural and tourist importance. Furthermore, the Municipality of Pustec has been declared a tourist area, while the village of Zrnosko has been included by the Albanian government itself in the program of 100 tourist villages, said Sterjovski.
He added that Macedonians in Prespa are not seeking reception centers for migrants, but rather concrete investments in infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and sustainable development, in order to transform Prespa into a true tourist destination and stop the process of depopulation of the area.
They assess that the opening of these centers, combined with the complete lack of state investment, risks further deepening the emigration of residents of the municipality of Pustec from their birthplace, seriously threatening the existence and continuity of the Macedonian community in this area.
-On behalf of the Macedonians, MAEI demands from the Albanian government the immediate removal of the Municipality of Pustec from the map envisaged for the establishment of reception centers for migrants, the planning and implementation of specific investments in infrastructure and local development, taking into account the fact that the Prespa area has been neglected by all governments in the last 35 years, stressed Sterjovski.
According to him, the decision is a direct violation of Article 16 of Law No. 96/2017 “On the Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Albania”, which strictly prohibits taking state measures that change or aim to change the demographic composition of local self-government units inhabited by national minorities.
-Setting up reception centers for migrants in a municipality with an indigenous Macedonian population is a demographic intervention with long-term consequences, which seriously threatens the survival, identity and sustainability of this community, and at the same time will have a negative impact on the development of tourism in the Prespa region, he said.
He announced that MAEI will use all legal and institutional avenues to protect the rights of the Macedonian community in the Municipality of Pustec and calls on state institutions to respect the law, the environment, the identity and will of the indigenous inhabitants of Prespa.