51st "March for the Angels" in Kocani: families demand answers and responsibility

The 51st "March for the Angels" took place in Kocani as families of the victims of the Pulse nightclub fire led a public call for truth and accountability, extending their demand to other recent tragedies that cost lives across the country.

Relatives ask for answers, not new promises

Organizers said the march was walked in memory of 138 victims of several recent disasters, including the Laskarci tragedy, the modular hospital collapse in Tetovo, the Besa Trans bus crash and the Pulse fire, in which 63 young people lost their lives and more than 200 were injured.

Speaking in front of the Police Station in Kocani, Valentina Hristova — the mother of 20-year-old Pavel, who died in the Pulse fire — reminded authorities of earlier promises that everyone involved would be held to account. Nearly twenty months later she asked what progress has been made in reviewing institutional failures, internal controls and any disciplinary proceedings.

Hristova also named women and girls who were killed as victims of femicide and domestic violence: Tankica from Kocani, Rosica from Veles, Emilija from Shtip, Ramajana from Shuto Orizari, Ivana from Skopje and 17-year-old Biljana from Bogdanci. She warned that every report of violence must be treated as a call to save a life, not merely as paperwork.

"We do not need new promises. We need answers, concrete steps and visible results. We do not seek privileges or special treatment. We demand truth, courtroom justice and responsibility for every proven failure," Hristova said.

"I know what it means to wait for a child who will never open the door again. I know what it means to search for his voice in the silence. And I know how the screams, the fear and the pleas for help from that terrible night keep echoing in your head. That is not forgotten, gentlemen! Not by strategy, not by awards, not by press conferences! Our children will not return… But their loss must serve as a warning to everyone who makes decisions, issues permits, performs inspections or receives reports of violence.

Do not try to prove to us with words that human life is your priority. Prove it with deeds — while people are still alive! We demand justice for Kocani! We demand justice for all innocent victims! We demand responsibility, not promises!"

At the Basic Court in Kocani, Dragi Stojanov, father of one of the boys who died in the fire, addressed the crowd: "We marched, we march and we will march as long as we are alive, until justice comes to light."

The march followed its usual route from the Park of the Revolution, along the shopping centre, past the Public Revenue Office (UJP) and the Police Station, to the Basic Court and the Prosecutor's Office. Parents said they will not abandon the fight for truth and responsibility and urged institutions to make human life a daily priority in actions, not only in statements.

Photo: press material from the event