The Central Commission for Culture of VMRO-DPMNE reacted to the decision of the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia to celebrate the New Year with decorated and dressed statues from the II and III century AD, with red hats, deer antlers and scarfs.

The Archaeological Museum publicly humiliates and boasts about putting Santa Claus and deer decoration on the most beautiful and most representative statues from Macedonia. What kind of public mockery of our cultural heritage and history is this and why? Will anyone answer that domestic and foreign visitors from Tuesday can be photographed and ridiculed with our cultural heritage in our top state museum? The museum that represents the whole of Macedonia! If this was done by any ordinary person or happened in any normal country, the state would see it as a top act of vandalism and a mockery of cultural heritage. But not in Macedonia, a country with a forbidden and censored history. We publicly ask if this practice will continue in the future and if everyone can do it?

The Commission for Culture of VMRO-DPMNE urges the director of the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia, Slavica Babamova, to resign irrevocably for non-compliance with the legislation on protection of cultural heritage and cultural values of the Republic of Macedonia, and if that does not happen called on the competent minister to take responsibility.