Macedonian Protests Against Police Gain Momentum

Several thousand people paraded trough city streets | Photo by: Martin Stojanovski

The killing of 22-year-old Martin Neskovski in Skopje last Sunday sparked outrage throughout the country. As news spread through local media, young people used Facebook and Twitter to organise protest rallies against what they say is unchecked police brutality.

On both Saturday and Sunday several thousand predominantly young people in the capital Skopje paraded through city streets and held open panel discussions condemning cases of police violence. Young people in the towns of Veles, Strumica and Bitola held similar rallies.

After first denying reports that a young man had been killed in Skopje on June 6, the police announced on June 8 that a member of the force had admitted to beating Neskovski and had been taken into custody.

“The killing of a young human being on June 6 in Skopje, in Macedonia Square, united us all”, reads a petition that protest organisers read at the rally over the weekend and plan to submit to the government. ”We feel directly compelled to protect the right to life, safety and direct participation in our democracy,” it continues.

The petition contains demands for a revision of the police law to provide stricter civil control over police and stricter rules for hiring new police officers.

The protesters demand the disbanding of some controversial police units, the resignation of the Police Minister, Gordana Jankulovska, and the police spokesperson, Ivo Kotevski, and fair trials and steep penalties for all those found responsible for the murder.

“We plan to submit this petition, together with our demands, to the police, to the government, the parliament and all other relevant institutions in the coming days,” said Petar Stojkovic, one of the organisers of the protests.

Protestors spreading their hands, telling to the police that they are not violent | Photo by Martin Stojanovski

Protestors during the weekend stopped in front of the government, the parliament and the police ministry, displaying black flags as a sign of grief for the lost life. They were joined by Martin Neskovski’s brother, who urged the peaceful protesters to continue with their rallies.

Both ethnic Macedonian and Albanian youngsters were present at the gatherings over the weekend, and bilingual banners reading “End Police Brutality” or “Justice for Martin” could be seen.

Meanwhile, some local media reported over the weekend that the police were trying to curb protests by demanding bans on Facebook profiles and groups that were actively engaged in organising the events.

Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski has insisted that the police have nothing against peaceful protestors and that they are reporting only those who spread hate speech and call for violent protests.

“The police are following groups and profiles of anyone who calls for protests. The Ministry informs Facebook of all groups that spread hate speech and call on violence and Facebook automatically deletes those groups,” said Kotevski.

Organisers have insisted that the protests will remain non-violent.

“We are trying to control what appears on those sites and the Facebook groups that we coordinate and our administrators immediately delete posts containing hate speech,” said Petar Stojkovic, one of the protest organisers.

Another participant in the protests, Aleksandar Mitrov, told Balkan Insight that the police officers who secured the protests over the past week acted professionally.

“They are securing the intersections and roads correctly so that we can move freely through the city and call for support,” Mitrov said.

The rallies have also been cause for political accusations between the ruling VMRO DPMNE party and the opposition Social Democrats. The ruling party has accused the opposition of fueling the outrage and the opposition has blamed the government for failing to crack down on police brutality.

However, organisers insist that they want no political interference from any group. Over the past seven days, several prominent opposition members have been asked not to speak at the rallies in Skopje.