UNCOMPROMISING COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY– Putin will fall, but Putinism must fall too

“I’m certain that Putin will lose eventually. What we need to do is not to let Putinism win, and that’s the greatest risk. Putin will fall. Putinism must fall too”, pointed out  Xhabir Deralla, President of CIVIL, at the panel “Countering Authoritarianism” at the international conference held in Skopje in December within the Human Rights Week.

History and future of uncompromising commitment to democracy, human rights and media freedoms is the title of the fourth panel discussion of the major international Conference “Defending Democracy and Human Rights in the Face of War, Nationalism and Authoritarianism”, which was held on December 12, 2024, organized by CIVIL – Center for Freedom (North Macedonia) and MEDIA DIALOGUE / Y4M (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), in partnership also with the New European People’s Forum based in Brussels, and with the support of the Government of North Rhine-Westphalia.

 The panel discussion that was moderated by Heather Roberson Gaston, human rights expert, USA, included the participation of Edward Joseph, Conflict Management Expert, University Professor, John Hopkins University, USA, Petrit Saracini, media expert, IMA, North Macedonia, Olha Danyliuk, journalist, Ukraine, Astrit Istrefi, political and security analyst, Kosovo and Xhabir Deralla, CIVIL, North Macedonia.

Panel 4: History and future of uncompromising commitment to democracy, human rights and media freedoms

At the panel discussion, speakers examined the past and future of civil society’s commitment to democracy, human rights, and media freedoms. Speakers explored actions and strategies to empower media and civil society in combating disinformation and promoting democratic values. Additionally, the panel introduced partner organizations and celebrated the 25th anniversary of CIVIL – Center for Freedom, reflecting on its history, impact, and vision for the future.

Edward Joseph: You can’t have democratic advancement of the region with the largest country that has interests in subverting neighbors

Edward P. Joseph, Conflict Management Expert, John Hopkins University, USA at the panel spoke about North Macedonia as a hostage to ethno-nationalist issues for which it is not culpable, the Prespa Agreement was made to support sovereignty and protect the language, after which it moved on to NATO, and now there is a veto from Bulgaria, which does not adhere to the Friendship Treaty.

“North Macedonia has qualified, and I did some interviews here, I have my view about what the government should do on that, but it’s clear the obstacle is not within the country, and of course, that is the blockage from the reforms and all of the steps that would have propelled this country and vastly improved the corruption situation and so many other issues. So, what is the solution? You cannot have a democratic stable Balkans with an anti-democratic Serbia”, Joseph emphasized.

Olha Danyliuk: Democracy in Ukraine is also severely undermined by “news deserts” caused by limited access to information  

Olha Danyliuk, journalist, Volyna Gazetta, Ukraine in her address pointed out that from where she was joining today’s conference (Ukraine), one never knows whether there would be electricity, and she was not sure if she would be able to participate.

“We are facing very pragmatic problems, it’s something that we face every day and it’s not about theory. We face problems with democracy and threats to media in real life, with real problems that we see every day, as I mentioned before, with psychological stress, obviously a shortage of staff and so on. Whole Ukraine obviously suffers a lot in different ways from war that we are facing today and because of this underfunding it creates news deserts, and that means that people in certain regions don’t have access and they can’t find out what’s happening or understand what is going on”, Danyliuk said.

Petrit Saracini: There should be coalitions between civil society, fact-checking organizations and mainstream media

Petrit Saracini, media expert, IMA, North Macedonia, at the panel spoke about the attack of authoritarian tendencies of political extremism and ethno-nationalism

“Problems that people in North Macedonia and the media community face, but also the region, and also Europe, which is under attack of authoritarian tendencies of political extremism, extreme ethno-nationalism, and this has all taken toll to the capacity of our democracies and media in general. We see a spread of anti-gender disinformation, disinformation against vulnerable minorities, marginalized groups and I’m afraid that we democratic societies are not able still to find a solution to these problems”, Saracini highlighted.

Astrit Istrefi: We should not stop building alliances across the border, borders across the ethnic groups

Astrit Istrefi, political and security analyst, Kosovo, stressed that for the people in Ukraine every second is a matter of life and death.

“And we cannot say we stand by Ukraine. I think we should say Ukraine should win the war. Not we will stop the war, but Ukraine should win the war, and we will help them. And Russia should be defeated. I think that is really critical. We were talking here about empathy. We were talking here about kindness. I think it depends, whom do you show that empathy or kindness? To whom? To Russia? How? Nobody can say that we will beg Russia to stop the war and they will just leave. They will never do it. They have to be defeated. They have to”, Istrefi says.

Xhabir Deralla: There is one truth based on facts, even when people’s minds are manipulated, oppressed or intimidated

Xhabir Deralla, President of CIVIL, spoke about the frontline that is set up in defense of democracy, and that line is Ukraine.

“We got blindfolded by fear, by commercial interests, economic interests, or just because of some prejudices. And we cannot do that. We cannot allow ourselves anymore because we have no time anymore. We ran out of time. I just want to say that the frontline is in Ukraine. People are being killed there, being kidnapped. There is a systemic use of torture, rape, and looting civilian targets. Also, the frontline is not finishing there”, points out Deralla.

The goal of the Conference is to shed light on the challenges against democracy and human rights, but also to develop applicable recommendations and foundations for strategies to overcome them. The Conference was part of the official program of Human Rights Week – an initiative of North Rhine-Westphalia, and was held on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, as well as the 25^th anniversary of the founding of CIVIL in 1999. The Conference is part of the international initiative Defending Democracy that was launched by partner organizations in Skopje.

Translated by: N. Cvetkovska

For more information on the Conference, please visit the special website defendingdemocracy.civilmedia.mk
CONFERENCE, FULL VIDEO, Streamed live on December 12, 2024:

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