| ILIRIAPRESS |
| Police Violence in Macedonia Posted April 13, 2001 (HRW) "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." "The pro-government media in Macedonia portrayed the incident in a biased way that further exacerbated the tense situation in the area. Coverage praised the professionalism of the police in their struggle against "Albanian extremism," without mentioning the police's use of excessive force, arbitrary detentions, or abuse in custody." "Public statements after the incident from the U.S., E.U., and OSCE failed to criticize the police. Instead, they reiterated their support for Macedonia's "territorial integrity" and called on ethnic Albanians to respect their legal obligations to the state. UNPREDEP made no public statement on the incident. Internal OSCE reports obtained by Human Rights Watch were overtly biased in favor of the government (see Appendices)." "The police's behavior in Gostivar on July 9 and 10, as well as the subsequent lack of accountability, are clear violations of Macedonia's obligations under international law, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the U.N. Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and the European Convention for the Protections of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms." "Mr. Gafur Demiri and his nineteen-year-old son were forcibly taken from their apartment in the center of town and beaten. Human Rights Watch saw photographs of Mr. Demiri taken eleven days after the attack that showed deep cuts, lacerations and bruises on his arms and backs. He told Human Rights Watch what happened at around 4:30 p.m.: They broke my front door and seven or eight policemen entered the apartment. They ordered us to put our hands up and, cursing our nationality, led us downstairs. On the street, ten or fifteen of them grabbed my son and beat him in front of me. I tried to intervene to help my son and to turn their attention to me. One of them asked if I wanted to be an Albanian hero and hit me twice in the face, breaking two teeth. They beat us there for half an hour.(15) After being beaten in the park, most of the detainees were taken to the police station in Gostivar, where they were forced to proceed through a gauntlet of policemen with truncheons before entering the police garage. Gafur Demiri told Human Rights Watch: We were taken to the police station and put in the garage. Two columns of police were waiting for us to go through... 300 to 400 people were there. We asked for water and they said we couldn't have any because only dead Albanians are good.(16)" |