CIVIL – Center for Freedom welcomes the initiative for continuation of negotiations to overcome the political crisis in the Republic of Macedonia, this time in Vienna.

However, having in consideration the failures and obstructions to the Agreement to overcome the political crisis, continuation of the negotiations has to get a different format and dynamics. The work of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is constantly blocked, the media are still under strong control, and there is no separation between the party and the state.

The decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the new power of the President to pardon persons who committed electoral fraud, and immediately after that the decision of President Ivanov to abolish persons suspected for abuse, corruption, crime and electoral fraud, both imposed a heavy setback in the efforts to restore the rule of law in the country.

The activities of the State Election Commission, including activities related to the revision of the Voters Register, leave no space for establishing a minimum confidence in the quality of preparations for the electoral process.

The large number of cases of abuses and political pressure, threats and intimidation of employees in the administration are widespread, and have been noted by CIVIL observers.

Abuse of vulnerable categories of citizens, primarily, of the socially vulnerable categories of citizens continues.

In such circumstances, we reiterate our organization’s standpoint from before the negotiations in Przhino.  There is no reason to accept government representatives in the negotiations, for whom there are serious implications that they are generators of the crisis of the system, and have conducted serious abuses of power.

Part of the negotiators in this process do not have credibility and do not represent the interests neither of the state, nor of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, but rather their own, personal interests – to escape political and legal responsibility.

CIVIL demands negotiations in the interest of the citizens, and not for the salvation of discredited politicians and those suspected of crime!

In this context, CIVIL demands involvement of more political parties and of representatives of civil society, organizations, movements and initiatives, in order to have a more direct representation of the interests of the citizens of Republic of Macedonia.