
KSZD: Ramiz Merko installed a plaque celebrating the fascist occupation and thereby upset the people of Struga
This act caused dissatisfaction and disturbance among a large number of residents from different ethnic and national communities, who consider it an insult to the memory of the fallen fighters against fascism - the Commission found.
Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (CSSD) determine that the mayor of the municipality of Struga, Ramiz Merko, has been disturbing the residents of the municipality with his actions. The reason for this is the placement of a controversial plaque on the building of a school built in 1934, a building that is protected as a cultural heritage of exceptional importance.
Recommended
-The erected plaque, inscribed in Albanian, glorifies the fascist occupation of Struga in 1941 by fascist Italy and the Kingdom of Albania. This act caused dissatisfaction and disturbance among a large number of residents from different ethnic and national communities, who consider it an insult to the memory of the fallen fighters against fascism - the Commission determined.
In the report, the KSZD points out that the building where the plaque is placed has historical significance, because, as they say, many students have come from it, including fighters of the National Liberation War from the Macedonian people and other communities from the Struga region.
The installation of the plaque has been assessed as a desecration of the anti-fascist spirit, which is universally accepted and crosses ethnic and national borders.
The KSZD recommended the immediate removal of the disputed plaque by the mayor, a public apology for the harassment caused, and refraining from future discriminatory actions that could incite divisions in the community.
With this, the Commission emphasizes that anti-fascist values are the foundation of interethnic respect and the common history of all communities in the country.