The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) issued the following statement today in response to Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska photographed in front of UCK* emblem in the office of the Kicevo Mayor:
“Defense Minister Sekerinska’s actions are appalling and inappropriate. The 2001 conflict in Macedonia was nothing but an act of terrorism and aggression by the separatist UCK (National Liberation Army)* against Macedonian armed and police forces, which resulted in numerous brutal deaths of Macedonian civilians, army and police personnel, and including the destruction of Macedonian Orthodox Christian cultural heritage sites.”
“The UCK emblem is divisive and the antithesis of reconciliation. Sekerinska dishonors the memory of the victims of terrorism and aggression in 2001. The pains felt by the families of these victims cannot be ignored, minimalized, or rationalized as Sekerinska attempted to do in her so-called apology defending her actions. Sekerinska’s actions are a betrayal to the sacrifices made by so many to defend the Macedonian state from terrorism and aggression.”
“UMD calls for historical truth in Macedonia and not revisionism and machinations to suit political interests prior to elections.”
*UCK – National Liberation Army is an ethnic Albanian militant terrorist organization, labeled as such by the U.S. and NATO, with alleged ties to Al Qaida, Iran, and Wahhabi movements. During 2001, they committed war crimes well documented by Human Rights Watch and media outlets. Despite a ceasefire in 2001, UCK has threatened to destabilize Macedonian society on several occasions and has taken up armed conflict around the Kosovo-Macedonia border, in the Sar Mountains, and in 2015, in Kumanovo.
Photo of a monument dedicated to the victims in Skopje, Macedonia in front of the Macedonian parliament.