Lama's dinner - respect for tradition and non-respect for measures

At a table, where according to the anti-Covid measures, 5 people should have been sitting, eight were sitting. Among them, the two heads of state, President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

All this at the Lama Dinner, a dinner traditionally organized by the presidents of the country, started by President Ibrahim Rugova.

The organization of this dinner has been criticized by the Chamber of Hospitality. According to Driton Hoti, a representative of wedding hall owners, the heads of the institutions are violating the measures they have set themselves.

"We are not against the Lama's Dinner, we know that it is a long-standing tradition, but we are against the violations of the laws that they make, against the laws, the measures that they make and it is in the wedding hall that they go and hold such a party , when neither the distance nor the number are respected, since with the last measures that are in force, that is, up to 50 people are allowed indoors. They themselves are contradicting the rules they are defining, we are not against the Lama's Dinner because it is a long-standing tradition", said Hoti.

According to the anti-coronavirus measures, which were changed two days before the Lama Dinner, the use of closed spaces is allowed up to 50 percent of capacity.

also Arberi October 18, 2023 The Lama's dinner is celebrated with the police in the "Enver Zymeri" camp

In the space where the Lama's Dinner was held, "up to 4 people are allowed at the table, in case the tables are larger than two meters, then the prerequisite is the limitation of five people in 10 square meters".

But, despite this, the Minister of Health, Dafina Gexha, has justified holding the Lama's Dinner. In the "60 Minutes" show, she did not indicate whether they received permission from the President's Office for such an organization, saying that the measures were respected.

"Lama's dinner, which was organized last night based on the rules of gastronomy, everyone was seated, there was no standing. The hall was 1 thousand square meters and there were 100 participants. If in the premises... it was within the limits according to the decision", said Gexha.

The President's Office also said that there was no violation of the measures.

"Lama's dinner is an institutional-state dinner where local products are promoted, so it was held as such. About 100 invited people took part in it. The hall in which the dinner was held is dedicated to 800 people, for congresses, and 500 people for other organizations. Consequently, there was no violation of the pandemic rules. There is no need for a permit from the Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Health, because it was not a congress or a conference, but a traditional dinner. So, a protocol activity with the participation of accredited embassies in Kosovo, local producers, as well as personalities from health, art, culture, science, innovation and representatives of the women of Krusha. There were participants in only 15 percent of the entire area. The distance between the tables was about 2 meters. The participants have been vaccinated", said Bekim Kupina, the president's media advisor.

also Arberi October 27, 2022 The Lama's dinner is served at the Home for the Elderly in Pristina

Sali Cacaj, adviser to President Ibrahim Rugova, now deceased, and at the same time the organizer of this dinner, says that with all the changes over the years, it should contain more elements of tradition.

The organization of the Lama Dinner has become traditional since President Ibrahim Rugova.