Skopje, 16 February 2023 (MIA) – You cannot spend 30 years living in a country where no one tells you a single bad thing and then all of a sudden you stop appreciating all of that and portray the country as one that doesn't respect people’s rights, said Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski, adding that the right to self-declaration is the strongest right.

He said that Hristijan Pendikov’s claims - that he had been attacked in Ohrid because of his Bulgarian descent and that Bulgarians could even be shot without the police doing anything about it, are ridiculous.

"There mustn’t be violence on any reason. We respect the rights of every citizen and every person on the territory of the state in Macedonia. International institutions have noted that North Macedonia is one of the safest countries in the region, ranking 36^th on the Global Peace Index. This is all due to data, information and analysis on the situation in the country,” Spasovski said in response to a reporter's question during Thursday's visit to the Gjorche Petrov Police Center.

He added that the state is there for everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, and that it will protect everyone.

"The public prosecution will say what the reasons behind the attacks were. It’s good that the case is cleared. No one in the country can attack another person on any reason, be it national, religious, political or other. The right to self-declaration is the strongest right, and we respect it. Anyone can declare themselves as they wish in the country, and no one has the right to deny us this right, because we feel we are Macedonians, as citizens of this state. We are the constituents of the country, and we decide about its future, and who we are according to identity and language, and we will respect the right to self-declaration of anyone who lives in this country or who comes to visit,” Spasovski said.

The Minister added that neither he nor the institution he runs will allow anyone to breach the right to self-declaration and insult citizens. dk/nn/