Opposition to referendum in Macedonia with insulting vocabulary against Albanians

One of the front leaders against the referendum, Janko Bachev, said days ago that the referendum would not succeed, but that the government, Albanian parties and the American ambassador have, according to him, begun to intimidate the people that there will be war if the referendum fails. In this case, Bachev for Albanian parties has used offensive terms.

“Everyone finds it clear that the referendum will not succeed, and now Prime Minister Zoran Zaev wants the alibi for the referendum and scares the people, and here you see the American ambassador (Jess) Baily, the Albanian parties (as he referred to by the term Puerto Rican party) are starting to speak out that there will be war if the referendum fails. So, the people fear him because the Government finds it clear that the referendum will not succeed”, Bakev has declared.

Such a statement has prompted numerous reactions. From the prosecution, they have said they are notified of the case and if they find there is offensive restraint, they will take concrete measures. The government has reacted by condemning the act, but also demanding that such cases not be repeated.

“in Macedonia's democratic history has not happened that any politician, open, through television, uses hate speech to a certain ethnic community and that never again dares happen. Leaders of such parties, not only spread xenophobia, but they intend to boycott the future of Macedonia”, government spokesman Mile Bosnjakovski has declared.

In Macedonia, there is continued use of hate language, which is the consequence of the fact that institutions do not react to users of such language, promoting interethnic, interreligious contractions, from the marginal experience that does not have any great power, but can influence public opinion, says Sefer Tahiri, political expert and professor at the Faculty of Communications Sciences, at Southeast European University in Tetovo.

We have the Public Prosecutor who is inert, who is not active, didn't do her job of denouncing these people who use hate languages and for whom prison sentences are predicted... The justice system in Macedonia faces an important challenge, institutions must be placed in the direction of prevention, but also in sanctioning all those who will try to influence political processes, using derogatory, degrading terms that spread hatred towards Albanians, but also against international factor”, Tahiri says.

Such hate speech has been used at other meetings of opponents of the referendum, as in manifestations for marking the Day of August 2nd, the Ilinden uprising when fans of a football club known as “Comitts” cheered slogans such as <x2 natural gas room for Albanians” and the late Albanian “Albanian”.

Again, the prosecution has indicated that it is analyzing the calls of protesters, some of whom have been questioned, but still without any concrete epilogue.

Such calls, viewed as inflammatory and racist, always come in the event of electoral cycles or political, interethnic crises, and which have been numerous since Macedonia's independence.