11/25/2007 - Menduh Thaci, the new Chavez from Macedonia

News Reporter: The violence and the different pressures proceed. The presence of the repressive machinery in the highland area and around Tetovo, especially the demonstration of the military arsenal during the patrols aims to intimidate the citizens in order to impose silence about the crimes committed by the government coalition– was told today in the press conference of the Democratic Union of Albanians.

Bardhyl Mahmuti: The results of the persistence of our political force in one side and the independent media in the other side are emerging these recent days. These results are penetrating and breaking the regional and international wall of silence. The first reactions are emerging to show distrust on the official attitude of the Macedonian authorities regarding the case of Brodec. Fearing the truth, the current government is becoming nervous, therefore they are trying to express this irritability through different means. The most flagrant way of expressing it, is happening through the mouth of the president of DPA, Mr. Menduh Taci, who in a Chavez-like manner, is trying to impose the silence to the international presence, as well. He’s telling them to mind their own business in Macedonia. One thing is certain. A dictatorial logic is not possible to be imposed to anyone, especially not to the representatives of the democratic countries present in Macedonia. The international representatives in Macedonia are here to take care of our affairs.

They didn’t come here for their private affairs. As a political power, we will continue to raise our voice more and more everyday, in order to make it clear to everyone in the international community presence in Macedonia and abroad about the tragedy of Brodec, to release all those innocent prisoners, and to charge responsible those who directly or indirectly are guilty for the crimes. We will not stop raising our voice until the truth is unveiled. There is no form of pressure to make us backtrack from the course we’ve taken in order to contribute in revealing the truth about the Brodec events.

News Reporter: The violence and the different pressures proceed. The presence of the repressive machinery in the highland area and around Tetovo, especially the demonstration of the military arsenal during the patrols aims to intimidate the citizens in order to impose silence about the crimes committed by the government coalition– was told today in the press conference of the Democratic Union of Albanians.

Bardhyl Mahmuti: The results of the persistence of our political force in one side and the independent media in the other side are emerging these recent days. These results are penetrating and breaking the regional and international wall of silence. The first reactions are emerging to show distrust on the official attitude of the Macedonian authorities regarding the case of Brodec. Fearing the truth, the current government is becoming nervous, therefore they are trying to express this irritability through different means. The most eklatante way of expressing it, is happening through the mouth of the president of DPA, Mr. Menduh Taci, who in a Chavez-like manner, is trying to impose the silence to the international presence, as well. He’s telling them to mind their own business in Macedonia. One thing is certain. A dictatorial logic is not possible to be imposed to anyone, especially not to the representatives of the democratic countries present in Macedonia. The international representatives in Macedonia are here to take care of our affairs. They didn’t come here for their private affairs. As a political power, we will continue to raise our voice more and more everyday, in order to make it clear to everyone in the international community presence in Macedonia and abroad about the tragedy of Brodec, to release all those innocent prisoners, and to charge responsible those who directly or indirectly are guilty for the crimes. We will not stop raising our voice until the truth is unveiled. There is no form of pressure to make us backtrack from the course we’ve taken in order to contribute in revealing the truth about the Brodec events.

News Reporter: In this press conference, the journalists were announced about the meeting Mr. Mahmuti had one day ago with Mr. Georgio Radicati, and the letter sent to the OSCE ambassador in Skopje was spread among the pressmen. The letter aimed to inform this mission once again with the violence and the other ways of pressure against the Albanian population and the free media by the DPA – VMRO coaltion.

Bardhyl Mahmuti: This meeting was a follow-up of our co-operation with the itnernational presence. Yesterday we requested the OSCE ambassador to initiate an energic international intervention, and to create a special committee to uncover the events in Brodec, to release the innocent prisoners, in short, we repeated all those demands we’ve requested so far. We’re repeating the same demands since the same people are being mistreated in the prison. As far as the criminals of DPA and VMRO who have coordinated with this crime are not being held responsible for it, we will not diverge from this course.

News Reporter: Asked about the finding of the armament in the uninhabited village Perce and about the different pressures the government is taking against the quasi non-disciplined media, and all those who think otherwise, Bardhyl Mahmuti replied:

Bardhyl Mahmuti: The imposition of silence has been a strategy that was thought to make the crimes look legitimate. Owing to the independent media and the courage of the journalists, a part of what had really happened in Brodec was seen. That is the reason why you should understand the logic of Mendu “Chavez”, who in an extreme aggressive way approaches to the media and the international presence. You will be confronted by the “multiethnical” inspectorate (tax officials) and no wonder they will “find” weaponry in the buildings of the media which do not listen to the logic of VMRO and DPA. I have expected that the police will arrange, and later, find weapons in village Tenovo (the village were the deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Refet ELMAZI comes from), but they only damaged the transmission devices of National Television ALSAT. I don’t know why they didn’t point out the weapons they had probably predicted to emplace sidewards, but they sent those weapons in Perce which is an unhabited village, in order to call the journalists to watch an evening show of “finding weaponry” performances.

To conclude it, the courage the media have shown is being rewarded with frequen visits of repressive authorities. But it is your duty to say STOP to this disruptive logic caused by the VMRO –DPA coalition which does not give any profit neither to the Macedonian population nor the Albanian population. Gruevski has completed his goals to make Menduh “Chavez” confront us very well against the international presence, therefore instead of european – atlantic integrations, we should imagine and elaborate hypotheses of integrations towards the east. To those who are trying to send us towards the eastern structures, we must tell that Macedonia’s place is in Europe, as part of euro-atlantic structures, but not with a political garniture which prompts for hatred, disunity and conflicts, but with a group of men and women which opens new routes with a political elite consist of democratic standards and values which could be a guarantee for the country’s inegration in a vision where each citizen of Macedonia, no matter the ethnical background or linguistic diversities will find the space to express his or her qualities.

News Reporter: In the Press Conference, Mr. Mahmuti demanded once again the resignation of the ombudsman because, according to him, he hasn’t done his job properly regarding the Brodec events issues.