17 nominations for the '4 November' award in Bitola as Partisan cemetery remains neglected

In Bitola, where the Partisan cemetery has for years lacked proper upkeep, the municipality is preparing to mark 4 November — the day the city was liberated in 1944. With just over two weeks to go, the Fund’s board must decide which of 17 nominees will receive the municipal "4 November" award, a prize that carries the legacy of the National Liberation Struggle.

Board to choose among 17 proposals; prison and Red Cross both nominated

The "4 November" award is regarded as one of Bitola’s highest municipal recognitions for achievements across public life. This year the call for the one‑year achievement prize drew a relatively large field: 17 nominations that include directors of public institutions and institutions nominated by their leaders.

The Bitola Red Cross has proposed Aleksandar Jovkovski, director of the Penal Correctional Institution "Bitola Prison", for the award — in part because the prison provided inmates to help renovate the Red Cross building. The nomination text for Jovkovski states that he gave support in the "completion of the capital project, enabling all necessary activities to be carried out without any compensation." The prison itself is also nominated; in its case the justification highlights that through the "regular resocialization program of its inmates" it assists by placing inmates to work in public institutions and enterprises in the Municipality of Bitola.

In a phone conversation, Red Cross representatives said private companies had requested large sums for the reconstruction work, while the prison supplied inmates free of charge as part of a long‑standing cooperation on humanitarian projects.

Other nominations include the Bitola Infant Home, proposed by director Biljana Anastasova for its long service in care and welfare of young children; the Public Institution National Park Pelister, nominated by the Bitola Women’s Organization for its conservation and promotional activities; and a list of individual professionals and cultural figures nominated for their one‑year achievements: anesthesiologist Dr. Tanja Strumenkovska‑Ristevska, athlete and coach Kire Markov, playwright Biljana Krajchevska, professors Dr. Goran Ilic and Dr. Mende Solunchevski, documentary filmmaker Shenol Memish, chronicler Zoran Gjorgiev, pediatrician and neonatologist Dr. Margarita Kambovska, organizer Jasna Nikolovska (of the Badnik procession), psychologist Anica Zlatevski and the musical Trio "Interart". For the lifetime achievement prize the candidates are actors Sonja Mihajlova and Slobodan Stepanovski, and the writer Petre Dimovski.

The award notice states the prize is given to individuals and legal entities as a public recognition for significant accomplishments in various social and scientific activities that constitute a special contribution to the development of the Municipality of Bitola, North Macedonia and the world. Legal entities, associations of citizens, groups of citizens and individuals may propose candidates. The Board of the Fund for awarding the "4 November" prize, which decides on winners, is elected and appointed by the Council of the Municipality of Bitola.

Last year the awards provoked public reactions after the one‑year achievement recognition went to a Facebook group presented as a portal. This year the large number of candidates underlines what the prize means locally. At the same time, questions remain about the city’s care for the place where those who secured the city’s freedom are buried: the Partisan cemetery still awaits dignified maintenance even as Bitola marks the 82nd anniversary of its liberation.

Officials from the Municipality of Bitola and the Union of Fighters told reporters that maintenance of the cemetery is the responsibility of the public enterprise "Komunalec." Komunalec representatives say their responsibility covers only the access path to the cemetery.

Photo: SDK.MK)