Family Members and Relatives of Those Killed in Kocani Fire Stage Protest March

On Tuesday, family members and other relatives of those killed in the Kocani nightclub fire organized a protest march in Skopje saying they demanded answers and justice over the deaths of their dearest ones. There were banners reading “CORRUPTION KILLS”.

Some protesters called for Ljupco Kocevski to resign as Prosecutor-General, adding that they’d felt let down by institutions.

“We pay you thousands of euros, but you commit crimes worth millions”, a protester, Vladimir Atanasov, said, asking why the Prosecutor-General’s Office had never taken action on the basis of rumour.

The representatives of the families met with prosecutors in charge of the case. According to the Office, they were given all-encompassing information about the course of the investigation, and were briefed on the dynamism of the upcoming questioning of damaged parties as the next stage of the investigative process.

Outside Parliament, a protester said there the kids had been killed in the name of corruption, bribery, and money. Also, protest participants demanded a meeting with parliamentarians. Several SDSM and Levica MPs, including the former’s leader, Venko Filipce, came out.

“We are not here to score political points”, the SDSM leader stressed.

Some of the families and relatives also held a meeting at the Interior Ministry with Minister Pance Toskovski. He stated adamantly that there had to be justice in the case “if we want to have a normal country”, stressing that he didn’t want to make the matter a political one because the kids didn’t deserve that.

“The investigation is still underway. 70 people have been named suspects so far”, the Minister noted, adding that he understood the families’ anger. So far, he stated that a current minister, a current Protection and Rescue Director head, and a current mayor had been named suspects.