We can have opposing view in Parliament and I should respect these opposing views every day, however, there are red lines we must not cross, Defence Minister Radmila Shekerinska said Monday when asked by reporters whether justice has been served, too, for the reporters who covered the events in Parliament on April 27, 2017, during the violent storming.
I, she said, expect all decent people who want the best for the country to draw their red lines within their party bodies.
“Please excuse me for being a bit emotional, but many people that day were a step closer to death,” Shekerinska said referring to the attacks on MPs in Parliament on April 27, 2017.
The Minister said that law and court verdicts must be respected, adding that everyone responsible for violent behavior should be held accountable ‘not only those who coordinated it, but also those who gave orders.’
“I remember meeting that night with your colleagues in the hall where the main event took place. We thought it was a bad dream and that it was impossible people to be that evil. I would like to believe that court proceedings will have an ending and that a finger will be pointed to the masterminds too, not only at the executors and organizers,” Shekerinska told reporters after visiting servicemembers of North Macedonia and United States together with US Ambassador Kate Byrnes at the Krivolak army field, where they are constructing new contents ahead of the Decisive Strike 21 international exercise.
According to her, similar incidents could happen in other democratic countries. “To prevent them from ever happening again, we all must condemn them. What I saw yesterday taking place on the streets of Skopje was no condemnation, it was show of support,” Shekerinska said referring to Sunday’s protest in Skopje, organized by several patriotic associations.
Chanting “Democratic Macedonia”, protesters demanded that the men sentenced to serve time for their involvement in the storming of Parliament on April 27, 2017 should be released.
“We demand the Supreme Court of Macedonia revoke the verdicts against all in relation to the events in Parliament on April 27, 2017 and order a retrial after additional evidence has emerged of perjury and selective selection of evidence and witnesses against the defendants,” opera singer Igor Durlovski said at the protest on behalf of the organizers.
Sixteen men were sentenced to a total of 188 years in prison. The court acquitted Durlovski.
