Regarding the xenophobic, nationalist, and irredentist messages during the 2 August basketball game in Kumanovo between North Macedonia and Romania and the 5 August football match in Skopje between Shkendija and Qarabag, 1st Deputy PM Izet Mexhiti said on Friday that the judiciary didn’t act when it needed to and exaggerated when it didn’t need to act.
Though he condemned both incidents, he believes there is a distinction, that is, his stand is that the basketball game saw anti-Albanian messages, whereas the football match didn’t see anti-Macedonian ones.
“We call on the judiciary, too, to contribute to interethnic relations”, he noted.
Chants such as “Dead Sh*ptar, good Sh*ptar”, “Gas chamber for Sh*ptars”, and “Pure Macedonia” could be heard during the basketball game, while Shkendija’s fans were chanting “Greater Albania” and “Ilirida” during the football match.
Regarding the local elections, Mexhiti, who’s VLEN’s mayoral candidate in Cair, stated that Muhamed Murtezi, a doctor who was not in politics, would be the carrier of VLEN’s list of candidates for Council members in that Municipality.
“He is an added value of VLEN”, Mexhiti noted.
Asked about comments on illegal structures by Bujar Osmani, who is DUI’s Cair mayoral candidate, the 1st Deputy PM stated that the ex-Foreign Minister had no credibility to talk about that.
“It’s good for Bujar to mention that he lives in an illegal structure. The house where he lives had been built as an illegal structure by him and was legalised. After that, he can talk about the others. He has the least moral right to talk about that. Regardless, even if it’s legalised, it is an illegal structure”, Mexhiti pointed out, adding that Osmani didn’t want common citizens that had no title deeds to legalise places where they lived.
Nonetheless, Mexhiti’s stand is that the issue of illegal constructions will not be a big topic during the local elections. Asked about dilemmas in terms of whether he was in fact a resident of Butel Municipality, Mexhiti stated that he had been born and lived in Cair.
“Well, there will be an official campaign, we will notify you officially. Those are technical matters. I was born and have lived all these years in Cair”, the mayoral candidate stressed.