Civil Activism in Macedonian Public Discourse: (Policy Paper)
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TRAITORS, HIRELINGS AND SANDWICH-PROTESTERS: (POLICY PAPER) CIVIL ACTIVISM IN THE MACEDONIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE Skopje, 2013 POLICY PAPER TRAITORS, HIRELINGS AND SANDWICH-PROTESTERS: CIVIL ACTIVISM IN THE MACEDONIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE (POLICY PAPER) Author: Dimitar Nikolovski, Macedonian Centre for European Training Publisher: Foundation Open Society – Macedonia For the publisher: Vladimir Milcin Proofreading and Translation into English: Abacus Design & Layout: Brigada Design Print: Skenpoint Circulation: 500 Free/Noncommercial circulation CIP - Каталогизација во публикација Национална и универзитетска библиотека “Св. Климент Охридски”, Скопје 32.019.5:323.23/.27(497.7) НИКОЛОВСКИ, Димитар Предавници, платеници и сендвич-демонстранти: граѓанскиот активизам во македонскиот јавен дискурс: (документи за јавна политика) / [автор Димитар Николовски]. - Скопје: Фондација Отворено општество - Македонија, 2014. - 42, 42 стр. : илустр. ; 21 см Насл. стр. на припечатениот текст: Traitors hirelings and sandwich-protesters: civil activism in Macedonian public discourse: (policy paper). - Обата текста меѓусебно печатени во спротивни насоки. - Текст на мак. и англ. јазик. - Библиографија; Bibliography: стр. 37, 37. - Белешки ; Notes: стр. 39-42, 39-42. - Содржи и: Анекс 1 ISBN 978-608-218-204-9 I. Nikolovski, Dimitar види Николовски, Димитар а) Јавна политика - Граѓански активизам - Пропаганда - Македонија COBISS.MK-ID 96605962 Disclaimer: This policy paper is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the USAID Civil Society Project. The contents of the publication are the responsibility of the authors TRAITORS, HIRELINGS AND SANDWICH-PROTESTERS: CIVIL ACTIVISM IN THE MACEDONIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE and do not reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. POLICY PAPER CIVIL ACTIVISM IN THE MACEDONIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE TRAITORS, HIRELINGS AND SANDWICH-PROTESTERS: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Civil Activism in Macedonia ...................................................................................... 3 1.2. Methodology............................................................................................................... 4 2. THEORETICAL AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORKS .................................................... 6 2.1. Democratization and Europeanization ................................................................... 6 2.2. Political Culture .........................................................................................................7 2.3. Theories on Social Movement .................................................................................. 8 2.4. Discourse Analysis .................................................................................................... 9 2.5. Legal framework ......................................................................................................13 3. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS FOR CIVIL ACTIVISM ............................................................. 17 3.1. Citizens on the street ............................................................................................... 17 3.1.2. Don’t rape Skopje? What about citizens of Skopje? ........................................... 17 2.2.2. STOP police brutality! ...........................................................................................18 2.2.3. AMAN, it’s enough! ...............................................................................................19 3.2. Media analysis ..........................................................................................................19 3.2.1. Band of gay people and activists against a church on the square .....................19 3.2.2. Sorosoids in the service of Hope ......................................................................... 20 3.2.3. Social injustice or covering up a transitional crime? ........................................... 23 3.3. Activists, parties and media ................................................................................... 24 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 28 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................. 32 ANNEX 1 ........................................................................................................................... 34 NOTES .............................................................................................................................. 35 3 POLICY PAPER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Civil activism in Macedonia ism in Macedonia was low to non-existent and beginnings of democratic civil activism For a democratic society well-informed are tracked to 1987 events in Vevcani. and active citizens are more important than exercise of the right to universal suffrage, Throughout its independence, Macedonia participation in government or political par- - as a multiethnic society affected by serious ty membership. problems of power sharing and interethnic relations - has seen many events of citizens Acting as part of civil society, i.e. non- being mobilized on the basis of their ethnic governmental organizations, or as part background. Most prominent among them of informal groups, can be an alternative are those from 1997, when university and mechanism for certain groups of citizens to high-school students protested in front of fulfil their needs or check-and-balance the the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia authorities about serious matters that affect against the decision to introduce studies in the public wellbeing. Albanian language at the Teacher Training Faculty in Skopje. As part of its Euro-Atlantic integration process and being a former Yugoslav and Only a handful of events are marked by socialist state, Republic of Macedonia faced pure civil mobilization, without being orga- numerous transitional challenges, but has nized according to ethnic or party affiliation, still not completed this process. In regard to and therefore it can be said that Macedonian civil activism as a crucial segment of demo- democracy has still not matured. The pur- cratic life, the public arena is still dominated pose of this research is to examine whether by standpoints whereby Macedonian citizens the political culture in Macedonia has ma- are referred to in diminutive, i.e. people who tured, i.e. whether the Macedonian society have suffered injustices and hardships in has Europeanized so as to be able to accept the past, but have never firmly stood against and uphold creation and maintenance of them. In retrospective, back in 1968 – a year authentic civil activism, free of ethnic- or TRAITORS, HIRELINGS AND SANDWICH-PROTESTERS: CIVIL ACTIVISM IN THE MACEDONIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE marked by tempestuous events - civil activ- party-related doings. This analysis will claim 4 POLICY PAPER CIVIL ACTIVISM IN THE MACEDONIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE TRAITORS, HIRELINGS AND SANDWICH-PROTESTERS: that political parties failed to create a cli- 1.2 Methodology mate conductive to development and main- tenance of authentic civil activism and con- Last several years were abounding in tinue to occupy the space intended for civil events in which citizens - organized in differ- activism, by installing, instrumenting and ent forms - have taken to the streets to protest discrediting civil initiatives and movements. against or support state policies. Examples thereof include the general strike of medical This research will pay great attention to doctors1 (and counter-strike),2 various forms the state-of-play in the last four years, and of protests against “Skopje 2014” project will examine in detail three cases of civil (First Architectonic Uprising,3 “I Heart GTC”4), activism (First Architectonic Uprising from “Together for Peace” march,5 events on the 2009; “Martin Neskovski” case from 2011 and Skopje Fortress where clashes between op- AMAN initiative from 2012-2013) by means posing groups culminated in violence,6 many of which it will demonstrate that the ruling protests that concerned interethnic or inter- party, using the public discourse and orga- religious relations (some of which also ended nizing counter-protests, suffocates develop- in violence),7 protests organized in the after- ment of authentic civil activism in the coun- math of Martin Neskovski’s death,8 AMAN try and continues to develop a paternalistic initiative,9 protests against the Draft Law and non-inclusive society. on Pregnancy Termination,10 the biggest and most controversial events from 24.12.2012,11 In the first section we provide the general protests in front of the Municipality of Cen- theoretical and analytical frameworks on tar,12 and the most recent protests organized democratization and Europeanization, so- for preservation of green areas in the Munici- cial movements, political culture, discourse pality of Centar, more specifically the park analysis and legal norms. The second section opposite Bristol Hotel13 and green areas in contains the discourse analysis of public re- the Municipality of Cair.14 Due to time and ports related to research-targeted instances space constraints, this policy paper focuses of civil activism. In addition and for the pur- only on three cases that are considered most pose of this research, we conducted several representative of street-based civil activism