Child’s Death Sparks Ethnic Row in Macedonia

A protest in Kumanovo over the child’s death. Photo: Facebook

The Macedonian authorities and the family of the four-year-old child who died, Almir Aliu, have called for calm after a protest in Kumanovo by thousands of ethnic Albanians accusing the suspected killer of an ethnic hate crime.

The boy, an ethnic Albanian, died on Friday from wounds he sustained on June 25, when he and his parents were run over by a car driven by 30-year-old Boban Ilic, an ethnic Macedonian who is now in police custody.

The incident took place at Kumanovo general hospital when, according to police, the two families started to brawl amid an argument over who should see the doctor first.

The brawl reportedly continued in the hospital yard.

In a hospital video footage published in some media on Monday, a car, reportedly driven by Ilic, was then seen slamming into the boy and his parents, who were also injured.

“This incident should not be used to stir up ethnic hatred,” police said in a statement after several thousand ethnic Albanians demonstrated in Kumanovo on Monday, demanding life in jail for the suspect and accusing him of ethnically-motivated murder.

The protesters, organised by a local Albanian NGO called Zani (Voice), waved Albanian flags and carried pictures of the deceased child. They demanded the authorities hand down tougher sentences for ethnically-related crimes.

“Justice is one way to prevent unlawful retaliation, a moral satisfaction for the victims that could at least ease their pain,” said Bekon Limani from Zani.

In a reaction to the news of the boy’s death, some Albanian political parties claimed that Albanians in Macedonia, who make up a quarter of the population, do not feel safe.

“The attack on the Aliu family and Almir’s death is yet another clear indication of the sick nationalism and vulgarity that exists, sponsored by the government and always directed against Albanians in Macedonia,” said the spokesperson for the recently-formed Movement for Reforms in the Democratic Party of Albanians, Elmir Sejfullai.

The Aliu family however called for an end to the protests.

“What happened has nothing to do with nationalities… This is a personal case between two [people] involved in this tragedy. We demand that the institutions of justice issue the severest sentence to the culprit,” said the boy’s cousin, Faruk Aliu.

Goce Ilic, the father of the man accused of committing the murder, was cited by 21 TV as expressing condolences and regret that his son had caused such pain to the Aliu family.

“The institutions should solve this case and issue appropriate punishment,” Goce Ilic was quoted as saying.

But the brother of the accused, Bojan Ilic, who was said to be sitting in the passenger seat of the car during the incident, stirred up confusion on Monday by reportedly claiming on his Facebook page that he and his brother had previously been attacked by a group of some 20 Albanian men with baseball bats and knives for no apparent reason.

He insisted that his brother hit the Aliu family by accident while trying to escape with a broken windshield that was blocking his view.

In May last year, Kumanovo was the scene of a bloody shootout between Albanian militants and police that left 18 people dead, raising ethnic tensions in Macedonia.

Kumanovo was also badly affected by the 2001 armed conflict between Macedonian security forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents, when it was close to the front line in the fighting.