Crime and Punishment

Erol Rizaov

Sensational headlines are in the public eye – MPs, former police officials and public figures were arrested as a result of the investigation for the events on April 27 in the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia. In other news, two armed robbers were shot and sentenced to death by the owner of an exchange office. Now this person has to justify his actions to the court and prove he had no other option than taking matters in his own hands and act in self-defense.

In the former, the public prosecutor needs to prove in court that the suspects, police officials and MPs, deliberately refused to protect the sanctity of the highest legislative institution, as they were abided by law, which brought the lives of many people, as well as the constitutional order of the state, in danger on April 27.
The procedure needs to clarify whether the police leadership failed to take appropriate measures provided by law to preserve the security of the parliament, and therefore the state, and how involved were the MPs from VMRO DPMNE, and other senior officials and public figures.

Tension is sky-rocketing after the arrest of several MPs, Mitko Cavkov and few of his associates, who were high police officials until recently. If the investigation goes a little deeper, it will be proved that the situation was not so black and white, there were many more culprits and accomplices in the crime, and that the list of penalties is much longer. When citizens and private property are not protected and when mafia works smoothly, The Parliament cannot be protected, especially if change of power is threatening after legitimate election. The attack in the Assembly had all the characteristics of fear and terror to prevent the takeover of power from the parliamentary majority. That’s why certain politicians called the citizens to act on it, instead of being bystanders. We all saw the footage of the MPs opening the doors of the Parliament and it’s too early to forget the terrible images of violence in front of the indifferent police who didn’t intervene according to the law. All this clearly shows that the suspicions that it was an attempt to destroy the constitutional order and endanger the lives of more people and was not an emotional patriotic reaction, but a deliberate action of a certain political mob, much more dangerous than the regular mafia. When the ones who are supposed to defend the order are crushing it, it is considered the biggest culprit on April 27. This must be clarified in a transparent and impartial court procedure, if we want law to rule the country and preserve the constitutional order.

There is no exchange office in the capital and the rest of the country that has not been plundered many times. The safety of private property and people working in exchange offices has so far been threatened almost daily. The owner of the exchange office in Kisela Voda was repeatedly robbed, and according to some news, he was wounded in a previous armed robbery of his exchange office. When there is no justice from those in charge of defending the citizen and protecting their property, justice is taken into their own hands, which is a terrible message for the stability of the country and security of the population. If we dig a little deeper, it will be revealed that there are at least hundred gambling sites and public outlets with a number of narcotics at affordable prices from Saraj to Kisela Voda. The reasons for the high number of theft and insolent robberies are hidden in the inefficiency of several institutions in the fight against this evil.
In recent years, engaged in propaganda and fight for power, in time of corruption and organized crime, heavy social drama dominated over tragedies caused by legal gambling in casinos and virtually unhindered drug sales. We became insensitive to an alarmingly disturbing point that these things were not even an issue in the pre-election programs of the parties. Child prostitution is the third evil involved in the gambling and drug business, a famous crime pallet completely controlled by the classical mafia.
With professional and impartial judicial resolution of the two cases that are in the public eye, trust in the judiciary and the rule of law will be restored. Otherwise, this is yet another political parade of public outcry, and new chaos with very serious consequences will soon arise.