The Helsinki Committee has said it condemns the nationalist and politicised chants during the Shkendija-Qarabaq football match in Skopje on Tuesday.
“Despite appeals from the public and institutions for fair and sporting cheering, from the stands, calls ‘Greater Albania’, ‘Chameria’, and ‘Ilirida’ were being heard from the stands, messages that contribute to the instigation of interethnic division, that violate interethnic cohesion, and that have the potential to cause hate crimes. It’s a worrying fact that such shouts weren’t coming only from the Ballists supporters’ group, but also by part of the crowd, in the presence of senior state officials”, it pointed out on Wednesday.
Among those in the stands were Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi, 1st Deputy PM Izet Mexhiti, Economy Minister Besar Durmishi, DUI leader Ali Ahmeti, and ex-Health Minister Arben Taravari, who currently heads one of the three wings of Alliance for Albanians.
“None of these senior officials reacted to the insulting chants,” the Committee added.Though Gashi said he hadn’t heard the chants, he publicly congratulated the supporters, referring to them as a “dignified example of national values”, it also pointed out.
“These contradictory stands send a dangerous message of tolerance of hate speech and political cheering on sports pitches”, the Committee emphasized, calling on the Interior Ministry and other relevant institutions to take action in accordance with announced measures to deal with such cases.
The same day, the Pance Toskovski-headed institution stated that in coordination with a relevant prosecutor, the Skopje Internal Affairs Sector was taking measures on the basis of the recorded and documented material.
“A notification has been submitted, in writing, to the Prosecutor’s Office on the basis of the already determined material, after which the Ministry will act in accordance with its competences in coordination with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office”, the Ministry stated.
Proper action will be taken for any determined violations of the law, the institution also stressed.