North Macedonia’s Ministry of Interior marked Police Day with an official ceremony in Skopje, but the event has triggered criticism over the absence of the Albanian language and the lack of Albanian police officers among this year’s honorees. The ceremony, intended to highlight achievements in public security, quickly became the center of political and public debate.
According to reports, the entire Police Day event was conducted exclusively in Macedonian, without any Albanian-language signage, official communication, or interpretation. This has generated criticism from political groups and representatives of the Albanian community, who argue that Albanian is an official language in North Macedonia and should have been visibly represented during a state ceremony of this level.
Additional controversy emerged after the release of the list of the 12 most distinguished police officers of the year. No Albanian police officer was included among those honored, including officers serving in majority-Albanian regions such as Tetovo. The police officer named as the most distinguished for this year was Vençe Siljanovski.
So far, the Ministry of Interior has not issued an official explanation regarding either the absence of Albanian-language representation during the event or the selection criteria used in choosing this year’s awarded officers. The silence from the ministry has further intensified public discussion and criticism from opposition voices and community representatives.
During his speech at the ceremony, Interior Minister Pançe Toshkovski highlighted what he described as measurable progress in the fight against crime and corruption. According to Toshkovski, overall crime has decreased by more than 6 percent, several criminal groups have been dismantled, and investigative performance has improved significantly, reaching what he called one of the highest efficiency levels in the past two decades.
Meanwhile, Public Security Bureau Director Aleksandar Janev emphasized investments in police modernization, including new equipment, digitalization, and advanced technology. At the same time, opposition party LSDM strongly criticized the overall security situation, claiming increased violence, scandals, and demanding political accountability for the management of the country’s security sector.