Today in Vinica, the Angels' March was held, the 43rd in the series and the first in this town - in honour of the 63 victims who died in the fire at the "Puls" nightclub in Kočani. Participants gathered at 16:45 in "Angel Vinicki" square and set off on the march at 17:05.

The organiser is the citizens' association "16 March 2025" - named after the date of the disaster. The march isn't just a memorial. It's a political statement: "A suspended sentence is not justice for 63 lives lost and hundreds of families destroyed." In other words, parents, friends and survivors refuse symbolic punishment for what happened on the night when 63 young people lost their lives.

Apart from the dead, over 500 survivors are still dealing with trauma and injuries. That's a whole generation of one town, lost in one night. For context: 63 is nearly twice the number of young people who died on the 50th anniversary of Macedonian independence - yet the political response has stayed that this is a "tragedy", not "accountability".

The Balkans, constantly accused of corruption and abuse, now have their own test. Who's guilty? The owner of "Puls" - maybe. The municipal officials who allowed active operation without certificates - maybe. The ministry that issued permits without inspection - maybe. The police that didn't react - maybe. But all those "maybes" together only mean something if the court process ends with real sentences, not suspended ones. The Angels' March is asking for exactly that. And rightly so.