Counter-spin: The mixing of apples and oranges regarding the events of 27 April 2017 is nothing but a spin

By Тео Блажевски On Nov 29, 2018 0

Dimche Arsovski. Photo: VMRO-DPMNE, website

Regardless of the proposals for full or partial amnesty, on 27 April last year doors of the Parliament were opened, blood was shed and there were masked people giving orders… In fact, legal experts numbered 28 crimes back then.

Author: Teofil Blazhevski

One of the spokespersons of the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE made a statement on the occasion of the protest scheduled for 28 November 2018 and decorated it with a spin:

Spin: It has been exactly one year since the innocent patriots who, motivated by their patriotism, happened to be in the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia on 27 April, were detained. Innocent patriots, actors, opera singers, directors, artists, members of parliament, police officers who were driven by their patriotism and were doing their job professionally, as well as all other citizens, have been suffering the maltreatment of SDSM which accusses them that they have organized “terrorism”. These people have one single “sin”, and that is the love for their country.

[Source: VMRO-DPMNE/website, date: 25 November 2018]

Counter-spin: In the press conference in which he announced the call for protests on 28 November 2018, Dimche Arsovski, representative and spokesman of VMRO-DPMNE said that the occasion for the protest is the first anniversary of the detention of the persons who have somehow participated in the events on 27 April 2017 and deemed them not guilty of what they are charged with and claiming they “have one single sin, and that is the love for their country”.

This description of the accused for the storming of the Parliament and the violence that took place is sheer spinning, regardless of the freedom of each individual and political subject to present the views on the situations in the country.

First and foremost, let’s not forget the public dubbed these events the “Bloody Thursday”.

If an event ended in violence and bloodshed, then it cannot be said that “innocent patriots, actors, opera singers, directors, artists, members of parliament, police officers who were driven by their patriotism and were doing their job professionally” suffer “the maltreatment of SDSM” which “makes up that they have organized terrorism”.

Lumping the hundreds of participants in this event together is nothing else but mixing apples and oranges, as the saying goes.

Second, it’s not true that the indictment against the thirty persons in the process led by the State Prosecution Office for Organized Crime and Corruption is about terrorism. Multiple times, prosecutors and legal experts have made it clear that these people have committed a crime (article 313 of the Criminal Code) that entails organized acting with the intention of “endangering the constitutional system or the security”, all of which was evident to the public thanks to the live media broadcasts.

Let’s clarify, the opening of the doors, some police officers’ failure to react, the violence over the members of parliament and the masked people giving orders could be clearly seen.

The court process involving these people is in late stage. The prosecution is supposed to prove the intention and the organization. At the same time, some kind of amnesty for people that were part of these events is put on the table. However, the Government rejected the proposal of VMRO-DPMNE and the Parliament did so too, but it leaves space for new proposal that would be agreed upon by the members of parliament via a separate body.

Nevertheless, no matter the outcome of these attempts for legal pardon of the crimes perpetrated on the “Bloody Thursday”, what the entire public saw, what was undoubtedly confirmed by the legal experts of organizations protecting the human rights, such as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and in terms of the evidence presented in court, it is an undisputed fact we are not dealing with an innocent “expression of patriotic feelings”.

That’s why, the statement of VMRO-DPMNE’s spokesperson regarding the occasion of the scheduled demonstration is assessed as a spin.

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This article was created within the framework of the Project to increase the accountability of the politicians and political parties Truthmeter implemented by Metamorphosis. The article is made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for Democracy(NED) and The Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD), a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an initiative that supports democracy, good governance, and Euroatlantic integration in Southeastern Europe. The content is the responsibility of its author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Metamorphosis, National Endowment for Democracy, the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, or its partners.