Police delete history!

The counter-protest of GDOM in front of the home of civil activist Ilija Baltovski from Bitola, took place on May 11, 2016. This event was not registered in the report of the Bitola police! This is not the only event that has been left out of the official document that is supposed to reflect the actual state of security in Bitola.

GDOM counter-protest in Bitola

The report contains the activities of the Colorful Revolution, the protests that were organized in front of the Municipal building, the blocking of roads in the city, as well as the protests in front of Mayor Vladimir Taleski’s home, while the counter-protests organized by GDOM have not been recorded in the section on public order.

GDOM counter – protest in Bitola

During the period when protests of the Colorful Revolution were held almost every day, gatherings of counter-demonstrators were also organized in several locations in the city: on the “Magnolia” square, in front of the building of SDSM, in front of the Officer’s Home and in front of Mayor Taleski’s home, as a sign of support following the announcement of the news for his detention.  Still, they have not been registered in this report.

At the 54-th Session of the Council of the Municipality of Bitola, the members of the council were supposed to pass the report that was submitted by the police station. The council members from the opposition pointed out the inconsistencies in the report and demanded a response from commander Ivan Blazevski, who had signed the report, but due to his absence at the session they did not receive a reply to the question on why a report that was partial had been submitted.

Blagojce Kotevski, member of the Council of the Municipality of Bitola

CIVIL Media requested a statement from Blagojce Kotevski, a council member from among the lines of SDSM, who raised the issue of deletion of information in police reports.

“This report once more absolutely confirms the conclusion of the opposition and of the international factors – on the complete politicization of the police in Macedonia. This conclusion is also confirmed by the Information of the police station. The information is extremely selective and colored in the colors of MVRO. It notes only the protests of the Colorful Revolution, but not the protests of the association of GDOM. The gathering in front of the SDSM headquarters is also not noted, nor the damages that were made to the façade, the broken window and advertisement”, says Kotevski.

“What is it that you want to achieve with this report? Does this mean that someone wants to delete these events from the collective memory? Does this mean that someone wants to forge our present, and thereby our history? Does this mean that we have double standards for citizens who are part of the government and for citizens who do not belong to it?”, are the questions that Kotevski raised before the members of the Council of the Municipality of Bitola, before the voting on the report.

Despite indications of several council members of the opposition in that it is a report that does not reflect the reality, the report was passed with 11 votes in favor and 9 votes against.