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Date Posted: 08:05:29 09/19/00 Tue
Author: Nikolov
Subject: Old news and the true face of
In reply to: Nikolov 's message, "Branko Crvenkovski" on 07:32:07 09/19/00 Tue

The most serious case of police violence took place on July 9, 1997, when special forces of the Macedonian police, some of them trained in the United States, confronted violent ethnic Albanian demonstrators in the western town of Gostivar. Direct clashes left three protesters dead and at least two hundred people injured, including nine policemen. Once the police had established control, they beat demonstrators who were offering no resistance, including some people whom the police had tied to traffic signs. The police entered private homes without a warrant and detained and beat individuals who had not taken part in the demonstration. At the local police station, detainees were forced to pass through a gauntlet of baton-wielding policemen.

On July 10, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski visited the policemen stationed in Gostivar, praised their work on national television, and gave them the sign of "thumbs up." The message to Macedonian citizens was clear: this government will use force. As of April 3,1998, no criminal charges had been filed against any policemen or Ministry of the Interior officials involved in the Gostivar incident. In a positive step, on March 31, 1998, parliament approved the report of an ad hoc investigative commission that recognized some instances of excessive force by the police in Gostivar and called on the government to take "all available legal measures to establish responsibility." The government must respond to parliament by April 31, 1998.

One factor behind police abuse is Macedonia's Law on Internal Affairs, enacted after independence in 1991, which strongly centralized the police force. In contrast to the communist period in Yugoslavia, when local police chiefs were appointed by local governments, today they are appointed directly by the Ministry of the Interior in the capital, Skopje. The police, therefore, are still not accountable to the local population which encourages a culture of abuse and impunity.

Macedonian police also do not receive adequate human rights training. After gaining its independence, Macedonia had to enlarge and revamp its police force quickly, and many people were hired in a short period of time without proper training. What is more, the average monthly salary of U.S. $200 encourages corruption, which can be a motivation for abusive behavior.

The fundamental problem, however, remains Macedonia's top government officials, like Prime Minister Crvenkovski and Interior Minister Tomislav okrevski, who refuse to combat police abuse and, at times, have applauded it. There are clearly insufficient efforts by government officials to reduce police abuse by promoting better training, more democratic laws, and a system of accountability.

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Replies:

Re: Branko Crvenkovski -- Tasho, 15:55:29 09/22/00 Fri

Re: Branko Crvenkovski -- Laci, 16:32:06 09/22/00 Fri

Good job Laci, but these drvos just don't get it! They are indoctrinated with Tatarianism. -- proud Macedonian, 05:21:42 09/23/00 Sat

Re: Branko Crvenkovski -- Vasko, 16:04:54 10/03/00 Tue