The distribution of several photos on social networks showing a priest spraying water on some of the new vehicles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has caused a debate in the public. As can be seen in the photos taken in the parking lot near the MIA building in Skopje, the priest is performing a religious ceremony with blessed water, which according to Christian belief brings luck, prosperity and protects against evil.
However, such an act is prohibited under the country's Constitution, as the state's character is secular and prohibits the performance of religious rites and ceremonies in state institutions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs informed that internal control is investigating the case.
"The Sector for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards within the Ministry of Interior is undertaking measures and activities to fully ascertain the circumstances, after which the public will be informed accordingly," the Ministry of Interior says.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Astrit Iseni emphasizes on Facebook that the action was carried out by several employees of a traffic police unit, in collaboration with the religious cleric, and in no way represents the position or institutional activity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"This case proves the lack of professional awareness among some police officers. The Ministry of Interior is a state institution that must serve all citizens regardless of religion. Official spaces and equipment are not the property of any religious faith and must not be used for religious rituals or actions," Iseni reacted.
The reaction can perhaps be read as a message that VLEN has not forgotten the reaction of OBRM-PDUKM to the Speaker of the Parliament Afrim Gashi for an incident that occurred a year ago, when in the premises of the Parliament together with representatives of the Bosniak community they prayed according to Islamic tradition, raising their hands up, in honor of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. This act was immediately condemned by all Macedonian opposition parties, but also by the coalition partner OBRM-PDUKM.
"In our country, there is no place for rituals in state institutions. Regarding the incident where someone misused the invitation and organized Islamic prayers in this state institution, we express severe condemnation," OBRM-PDUKM reacted at the time.
Political reactions to the cases with the priest in the Ministry of Interior and the prayers in the Assembly reflect the reality of the division of society along ethnic and religious lines. While the Albanian political factor is alarming about the violation of secularism in the case of the priest in the Ministry of Interior, the Macedonian parties are silently overcoming this act. The opposite happened with the case of the prayers, when the Macedonian parties alarmed about the violation of secularism, while the Albanian ones did not react. /Alsat/
