VMRO-DPMNE condemned the response against the protesters in Tetovo on Friday, where distraught families demanded accountability for the deadly fire in the local Covid hospital that killed 15 people. Five protesters were arrested as police prevented them from gathering in front of the DUI party office – DUI has held power since 2002, and is seen as responsible for the corruption and mismanagement in the hospital.

Eleven days after the tragedy, those responsible have not been charged but handcuffs are put on the hands of protesters. We await answers about the panels that were used in the hospital, about the wiring, but there is no response. The public needs to be informed, we deserve answers, said VMRO official Dragan Kovacki.

The hospital is one of 19 modular units built under a crony contract that was given to Zaev’s former Deputy Prime Minister Koco Angjusev. They were apparently built using highly flammable insulation materials, given how quickly the Tetovo hospital burnt to the ground.