Minister of Local Self-Government Goran Milevski said today that the Government’s decision to remove the symbol of the Vergina Sun applies to municipalities, state and local institutions and is now being implemented under the Prespa Agreement.

The Government’s decision applies to the local self-government. The Vergina Sun has been removed from the 1995 flag, so I don’t know why that question is now being raised. The Prespa Agreement is clear, it should not be used by state institutions, of course, by local institutions as well, and now is the time to implement that provision. The Prespa Agreement is accepted by the Parliament by a two-thirds majority and the citizens are aware of the steps that follow, Milevski said.

Regarding the private use of the symbol, Milevski said it cannot be banned.

Asked by a journalist about the municipalities that have the Vergina Sun on their flags and coats of arms, the Minister of Local Self-Government thinks that they should change the symbols.

I agree that they should change the symbols, and I think that the monuments in some cities only need to be marked as a monument from the ancient period, from the Hellenistic period. Not to remove them, but in a footnote to indicate the period in the concrete monument. I think they are few, in Bitola, Prilep, like the monuments of Alexander the Great, Philip II, etc., said Milevski.