“I will not speak from the perspective of a politician, but rather from the perspective of a citizen. I have been in a position of having my civil rights violated in many cases, especially in the past 12-13 year in Republic of Macedonia. Today, I am in the position of possibly violating a civil right. Believe me, when you make an analysis, the line is very thin between these two things. This primarily is based on the mental structure that we as individuals all carry”, stated the Mayor of Kumanovo, Maksim Dimitrievski at CIVIL’s conference “Civic Charter – The Global Framework for People’s Participation”.

The Mayor of Kumanovo supported the Civic Charter in the area of fully fulfilling the civil rights, considering that the local government is very important in realizing precisely this segment, that is, giving power to citizens.

Dimitrievski also stated that in order to fight for civil rights you also need to be motivated to demand them.

“As a mayor, I have had citizens come to me and say I request this and that right, but you request on my behalf. I do not want to declare myself, our society is still infected and I do not feel as if though I can realize my rights. That is a wrong approach. I urge all of you who come from the government sector, but primarily from the non-governmental sector, to motivate all the citizens for them to demand, first of all, their own rights, because no one else can fight for rights on our behalf if the initiative does not start from us”, stated Dimitrievski.

He stressed that, unfortunately, the marginalized groups in Macedonia still cannot exercise the basic civil rights, while people with disabilities are left on the margins of society.

“This Civic Charter will contribute greatly to the development of our society, because we as a state are unique in many areas, especially in the area of mutual understanding. Unfortunately, experiences show that these spaces have many times been used by individuals who had taken over the general rights and the role of deciding on behalf of all of us, thereby violating the fundamental rights”, said Dimitrievski.

At the end of the speech he highlighted that the local self-government is here not only for moral support of the non-governmental sector, but also for an initial material support in the implementation of their projects in the interest and protection of civil rights. Maksim Dimitrievski is the first mayor in Macedonia, but also much wider, who put his signature on the international petition for support of the Civic Charter.

Biljana Jordanovska

Camera: Аtanas Petrovski

Editing: Еrmin Klimenta