Skopje, 5 August 2022 (MIA) - Censorship is a characteristic of past societies or past governments, it has no place in the 21st century, in a country that is a candidate to become a full-fledged EU member. The intention is not to direct or restrict, on the contrary, my intention has always been to support freedom of thought and expression, said Culture Minister Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska. She stressed that not a single Culture Ministry-supported project will be censored. "As long as I am minister of culture, not a single project supported by the Culture Ministry will be censored. Also, I want to be absolutely clear, while I'm minister, there will be no room to restrict or direct artists in any way. It is against all my personal and professional convictions," said in a Facebook post. According to her, censorship is a phenomenon that is against the principle of democracy and freedom of speech. "I'm sorry if the statement, which has been the subject of 'free interpretation', has hurt feelings, motivation for creating art. Finally, I'd like to reiterate: an artist's freedom is immense, it is undeniable, it cannot be limited by no one. No one should doubt this," wrote the Minister. Kostadinovska-Stojchevska's post comes after she came under fire when asked whether the protocol with Bulgaria will subject Macedonian artists to self-censorship. "They should create art freely, but they should create in the spirit of what can entertain the people and audiences. They shouldn't create works that will bring back the past, dark times when the people saw nothing good," the Minister said in a statement to Voice of America.