English
Three former mayors of Kocani were detained today. Ljupco Papazov was Mayor when the Pulse nightclub disaster happened, and he resigned in its aftermath. Along him, former mayors Nikolce Ilijev and Ratko Dimitrovski were also detained.
The arrests come after the arrest of half a dozen regional police officials. All are being questioned about the work of the nightclub, which clearly did not meet any of the safety requirements.
Plusinfo reported that former Mayor Dimitrovski tried to prevent the opening of the nightclub. The permit is given by the Economy Ministry, and former Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi, in whose term Pulse owned Dejan Jovanov received the permit, is also detained. But in 2012 Dimitrovski issued a statement of disapproval and revoked the parking permit that Jovanov obtained – all in an attempt to prevent the opening of a nightclub at the old warehouse building.
