PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
We strongly condemn the bully rampage in Nerezi by the football fan mob (part of the "Komiti" group) and lack of appropriate measures by the police to prevent the violence and end the spiral of violence.
These incidents provide another proof for the claim of Citizen for European Macedonia that Macedonia has become a bully state. The police again failed to prevent the assault of the bullies (just like it failed to prevent the violence at the debate in Struga and the rampage of the mob that "spontaneously" gathered on the main square in Skopje). The Minister of Internal Affairs again tried to shift responsibility and to minimize the mob's rampage, and the Prime Minister amnestied the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and stated that after reading the police report he will estimate if the incident involved interethnic conflict. Attempts to present the victims of the violence as a guilty party are also worrisome.
Citizens for European Macedonia remind the MOI that singing of "patriotic songs" which can be found on the Komiti website is an act of inciting ethnic hatred, discord and intolerance – a criminal offence (which has not been sanctioned so far).
We ask that MOI identify and arrest the persons who incited ethnic hatred, discord and intolerance, and to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the criminal offences "participation in a mob committing a crime" (the leaders and the participants), and "participation in a mob which prevents an officer of the law to perform his official duties," while we ask the Prime Minister Gruevski to order commencement of measures which would determine political, personal and command responsibility for the failure to prevent the violence, to put an end to the spiral of violence, and to protect the human rights of the citizens of Nerezi and other citizens who suffered injuries during the violent incidents.
Politicking, avoiding responsibility and minimizing only serve to open space for further incidents and to increase the burden of responsibility for the authorities.
