The murder of nine pupils and a school guard in Belgrade on May 3rd from a 13-year-old boy has prompted North Macedonian officials to take measures in collecting illegal weapons possessed by citizens. Authorities have also warned that punishments for carrying weapons without permit will be toughened.
This last week, two murders by firearms were registered in North Macedonia, with a person in the southeastern town of Demir Kapi killing his neighbor first and then himself.
Meanwhile, judicial authorities in Skopje have sentenced 14 persons suspected to be part of criminal groups that traffic drugs and guns, with a month in custody.
According to internal data, there are over 620 thousand guns in North Macedonia, 450 thousand of which reportedly without permit. 30 out of 100 people in the country are estimated to carry a gun, eight of which with a legal permit, while the other 22 without it.
North Macedonia ranks seventh out of 34 countries regarding illegal gun possession in a study conducted by “Small Arms Survey”, which takes into account European Union member states and the Western Balkans.
Chief Publik Prosecutor Lubomir Joveski demanded tougher punishments for illegal gun possession. He emphasized that “the tightening of criminal policy should ensure that the sanctioning measures for such crimes be within the limits set by law, without the possibility of alternative measures”.
Joveski also stated that in cases of milder sanctions with first-degree rulings, authorities should try to impose heavier penalties through second-degree procedures.
But experts in legal matters say that the problem of illegal weapons cannot be solved only by tightening criminal measures. They say that modalities should be found for their registration and collection.
The gun law in North Macedonia was approved in 2005. The law divides weapons into four categories; with category A including firearms that are fully automatic and are prohibited for civilian use, categories B and C including semi-automatic firearms, pistols, rifles and shotguns that can be purchased and equipped by citizens with a normal permit and category D including cold, air and firearms that can be purchased without a license but must be registered.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs says that according to their figures, 180 thousand citizens possess weapons with a permit and there is increasing interest of citizens to obtain a gun permit.
But the opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE, accused the government and specifically the Ministry of Internal Affairs for not acting against the large number of illegal weapons found in the hands of citizens.
They also mentioned the case of the robbery at the Police warehouse in Ohrid, and the fact that a year after, it is still unknown where the stolen weapons ended up and perpetrators have yet to be found.
