Explaining his stand on plans for changing street names, Mayor Bilall Kasami has said Tetovo cannot be held hostage by the past in terms of streets named after communist heroes.
Even though he had initially stated that names of streets would be added to ones that only had a number and created confusion, he pointed out on Tuesday that there would be also a renaming process. In his view, the reactions are unfounded because a commission has been formed for the entire procedure, meaning he will not be the one that will make decisions on his own.
North Macedonia had until 1991 had a communist system, but now, it is a democratic country, Kasami stressed.
“We now have a new concept with which we create institutions and build the country. That’s a European democratic concept. Accordingly, that will surely be reflected also in the names of Tetovo’s streets. That is not against any ethnic group in the city. It is in the interest of all ethnic groups. However, the reality, the present, and what we want to build in the future must be reflected”, the Tetovo Mayor underlined.
On the other hand, representatives of the Association of Fighters in Tetovo again criticised the “unreasonable ideas”, saying they were in contradiction with legislation concerning naming. They also stated that they fiercely opposed his stand that the time of communism had ended and that there should be an adjustment to a new reality.
PM Hristijan Mickoski, too, has reacted, saying one-sided decisions by the Tetovo Mayor will not be approved by the Government. Kasami didn’t specify which street names he considered contested. However, 300 will be part of the renaming list.
Kasami’s stand is that everything will be according to the law. However, SDSM Council members are against the process. They called on VMRO-DPMNE counterparts to support them.
VMRO-DPMNE’s Group within the Council stated it would accept a discussion only on streets that had no name, as well as on ones that only had a number, adding that the process should see compliance with equitable representation of communities in Tetovo.