CIVIL: April 27 not to be forgotten and never to be repeated

Two years have passed since the bloody attack on the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia on April 27, 2017, when the foundations of the democracy and constitutional order of the country were endangered. It is an event that will remain forever in the memories of the Macedonian citizens, as a reminder of the price of democracy we are all paying together. CIVIL – Center for Freedom is calling on the public today to recall on that event, as well as on all the events preceding it and to condemn the violence, and to urge for April 27 never to happen to us again. CIVIL reminds the public, the political elites, the media and institutions that such extreme violence was preceded by a long period in which certain structures were sowing fear and divisions among the people for years, used hate speech and false news, called for divisions and violence.

Previously, nationalism and structural violence were for years the main feature of the rule in the Republic of North Macedonia. Right before the horrible events on April 27, 2017, we saw an organized attack on the democracy, freedom and multiculturalism in our country. The list of events and structures that endanger the foundations of freedom and democracy is long and can start from quite a while ago and end with the “long knives” of Valentina Bozinovska, the President of the Commission for Relations between Religious Communities and the calls filled with hatred and manipulations of Nikola Gruevski, now honorary president of VMRO-DPMNE, and all of his party subjects, in front of the State Election Commission in December 2016. To the same goals also served the initiators and organizers of the initiative “For a joint Macedonia”, Bogdan Ilievski, Vlado Jovanovski, Igor Durlovski and Boris Damovski, now pardoned and the privileged MPs Mukoski, Arnaudov, Vasilevski, Tarculovski and Dimovski, as well as the convicted Mitko Cavkov, Mitko Pesov, Dusko Lazarov, Goran Gjosevski-Levi, Oliver Popovski, Oliver Radulov, Munir Pepik, Abdulfeta Alimi, Mladen Dodevski, Jane Cento, Gorance Angelovski, Igor Jug, Vlatko Trajkovski, Vilijam Mihajlovski, Nikola Mitrovski Koljo and Aleksandar Vasilevski Ninja…

To be remembered!

If the government pardons, if the perpetrators do not admit, if the institutions and parties do forget, history does not pardon, does not forgive and does not forget!

Regardless of how, why and whether the government and the opposition have bargained after the attack on the Parliament, CIVIL will note and remember the names of the monstrous actions of all those who on that day tried to kill people, to cause a conflict, and to destroy every chance for a progressive future of our country.

Even the biggest offender and organizer of the terror in the Parliament, Nikola Gruevski, must not be left out of this list, who not only has not been punished, but is also enjoying his freedom far from the borders of the country for whose future he was calling on the citizens of Macedonia to step out of their homes and defend “it”.

The injustice from the decision for the amnesty of many of the offenders for the bloody Thursday is not only injustice towards the numerous victims inside the Parliament, but is also injustice against all the citizens of this country, injustice that is yet to take its toll. The calls for reconciliation must in no

case be paralleled with the amnesty and the privileges that the MP-participants in this bloody act received in exchange for some political deal.

May this day remain remembered and serve as a warning for all future generations, to know to appreciate democracy and freedom and to be prepared to always and everywhere condemn and prevent hate speech, nationalism and violence.