By XHABIR DERALLA
As it is known, the draft-negotiating framework for the Republic of North Macedonia with the European Union, presented by the French Presidency of the Union, was welcomed“with a knife” by the opposition. The famous framework made a standstillat the parliament’s doorstep on July 15.
In the meanwhile, daily protests against the “French proposal” have initiated, where there have been several serious incidents, over 50 police officers injured, dozens of arrests and several criminal charges filed. However, the usual chants about “pure Macedonia”, “gas chambers” and the “damn….” have toned down in the last two-three days, though have not disappeared. Some will consider that the protests have “died down”or that at least they are unusually peacefully, especially if one takes into consideration the structures that are organizing them.
Up until the moment when guillotines and animals appeared on the “scene”, to “reinforce” the scenography.
The lull, nevertheless, should not mean that the organizers’ plans have changed. Not even a little bit! The protests in the past days have brought backmemories of the period of protests from the beginning of 2017, which culminated with a bloody attack on the Parliament on April 27. And then, before that bloody event, in an almost identical manner, protests were organized in the sign of hate speech against the West, against civil society and, inevitably, against the Albanians.
“Surprisingly”, it’s as if the topic of “Bulgarisation” has been forgottenat these protests, hence the hatred has directed against interethnic relations. At the same time, the protests have turned from a “no” for the French choice, to a “NO for EU membership”, and certainly also in calls for genocide: Gas chambers, damn Shqiptars, pure Macedonia… And open death threats for those who will vote for the European proposal (guillotine).
It’s not out of the question that the “lull” could mean preparation for escalation and violent incidents in front of, but also inside the Parliament, especially if the European proposal passes with a majority of MPs, as is expected. If this does not happen at the beginning of the parliamentary debate (July 14), incidents and attempts for destabilization are not excluded in the near future either. The rashists have a plan that can be seen from an airplane.
Demonstrators with “April 27” written on their T-shirts were noticed during the protests, on the fifth day (July 6) of the protests. At the same protest, a greater incident was barely avoided at the “Skenderbeg” Square in Skopje, when a gunman, a member of the Alliance for Albanians, fired four bullets from his gun.
Even though it really seems that the protests have almost completely “died down”, after the messages from the international community and progressive public opinion makers reached the wider public, still, maximum cautiousness is needed in this period. Political violence is never excluded when it concerns anti-Western structures and installations in the country.
Let’s hope that the relevant institutions have taken sufficient preventive measures so as that there is no escalation and violence, that is, that they are better prepared to prevent the repeating of “April 27”.
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
