NEWS OF THE DAY: Deskoska sets tomorrow noon as deadline for submitting amendments to the Law on Public Prosecutor’s Office
Following a two-hour meeting of the working groups of political parties today in Parliament, tomorrow noon has been set as the deadline for submitting amendments. A new meeting will probably be held on Monday, to discuss which amendments are acceptable. Minister of Justice Renata Deskoska, as well as representatives of SDSM, DUI, VMRO-DPMNE, the Alliance of Albanians and the Independent parliamentary group of VMRO-DPMNE were present at the meeting.
Deskoska said that VMRO-DPMNE did not give amendments at the meeting, but read remarks from different experts that result from the public debate.
“We opened also a debate for interpreting certain views of experts and saw that there is a different reading on some views, so they were asked to prepare amendments just as the other political groups have submitted, and for them to do so by tomorrow noon”, said Deskoska.
Antonio Milososki, from VMRO-DPMNE, proposed for the Ministry of Justice to invite the legal experts who gave opinions at the debate on the law, and to prepare amendments with them. He said they are ready for new meetings.
“VMRO-DPMNE has no intention of acting as an expert and that is why it is giving preference to experts. It considers that an amendment prepared by experts is better that an amendment prepared by a political party”, stated Milososki after the meeting.
FLASH: Timing is running out, circus performers with bad jokes and acts
Xhabir Deralla: Minister of Justice Deskoska pressed the stopwatch and has started counting down the seconds until the deadline for submitting amendments to the Law on Public Prosecutor’s Office. And, like teenagers before a first “date”, Milososki and his friends are confused and have started with the gaffes.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY: Gerberich: Politicians should not behave as if though the state does not belong to the citizens
“I hope that the upcoming elections will be held in a democratic, fair and free atmosphere. Politicians need to stop behaving as if the state does not belong to the citizens, but to the political parties they are representing. This type of behaviour leads to division of society and intimidates the citizens”, stated the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Thomas Gerberich, at the “Bilateral Youth Cooperation Offices between North Macedonia and Greece”.
POLITICALLY OK CORRAL: Abuse of official position of MVRO, 100.000 buildings awaiting elections, waste “dilemmas”, gender equality on candidate lists…
Nakje Chulev, Technical Minister of Interior, yesterday was in a working visit at the Stip Sector for Internal Affairs. But at the same time, the technical minister abused the official visit, by using official vehicles, escort and security. During the working hours, after the official meetings in the Stip SIA, he also held a coordinative party meeting. According to citizen reports that CIVIL received, Chulev used the official visit to Stip for an organized party meeting with activists and managers of the Union of Youth Forces of VMRO-DPMNE and for blocking the entire city due to his visit.
“The citizens yesterday felt the regime in Stip for one day. A short time ago we had an entire government here, and the city did not feel this. Yesterday the whole city was blocked, there were police and police vehicles at every corner, blocked streets, the same situation on the highway as well. They say ministers have a protocol, that there has to be police at a certain distance, but this was out of control. Police, police vehicles with rotary lights parked alongside the streets…”, is said in one of the reports of citizens.
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Ahead of the early parliamentary elections on April 12, SDSM decided to advocate for gender equality to the end and for the selection of MP candidates to be 50-50.
“The process of selection of candidates for MPs, determined at the 14th session of SDSM’s Central Board, will be transparent, inclusive and professional in order to select responsible, honest professional individuals who enjoy good reputation and confidence in the profession and in their place of residence”, states the party.
In the meanwhile, SDSM, as a party in power, can boast also with the reduction of the state debt. According to the Ministry of Finance, the public debt is stabilized, moderate and amounts to 48.9 percent of GDP. The public debt from 2008 to 2016 increased from 23 to 48.8 percent of GDP.
When it comes to the economy, current Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski, following the trend his predecessor Zoran Zaev imposed, also did not pass up the opportunity to say on Facebook: “After two and a half years of leading a strong and responsible economic policy, we have an economic overturn”.
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It seems that the fate of about 100.000 buildings will be uncertain until the end of the early parliamentary elections. There is no hope that the submitted law of the Government will be adopted in the Parliament before this period. VMRO-DPMNE is not giving signals of stepping back from the 1000 amendments with which it has blocked the Law on Legalization of Buildings constructed from 2011 to 2019.
Despite the calls of Minister of Transport and Communications, Goran Sugareski, for solving the problem of 100.000 households, we learn that VMRO-DPMNE will not withdraw the amendments with which the debate would last for years.
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In terms of civic activities, the protest in front of Parliament where they are demanding the adoption of a law on banning waste, marked the day. They say they will not be silent as long as the situation with the waste is not resolved, stressing that specific activities are necessary for significant reduction of air pollution.
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The Association Eco Guerrilla at a press conference called on the Government to follow up on the decision of experts to proclaim Shar Mountain as a National Park, before the MPs in Parliament, in order to officialise this decision and to respect the assessments and conclusions of the experts for internal zoning of the park.
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The Network for Protection Against Discrimination launched a campaign for raising public awareness on non-discrimination. The campaign under the slogan “Discrimination ends with me!” calls on citizens not to keep silent about discrimination, to prevent it and to report it.
SPECIAL ADDITION: ANTICORRUPTION
“Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2019 is calculated based on 7 data sources of 7 independent institutions specialized in the area of management and business climate and analysis, and the result is formed based on indicators from the last two years, namely, on the estimated corruption in the public sector”, stated today at a press conference the President of the SCPC, Biljana Ivanovska.
Ivanovska said that the general remarks determined at the global level also correspond to the remarks for our country, which refer to high level of political corruption, insufficient transparency in the work of the public sector and management of conflict of interests, as well as insufficient capacity and inefficiency of the control and regulatory bodies.
In regards to the upcoming elections, Ivanovska stated that in the days until the start of the elections, and during the elections, they will be increasingly more following all information posted in the media, but also in all other ways that will reach them, and that if there is a slightest bit of suspicion of corrupt behaviour, they will open procedures upon indications, for the purpose of investigating the conduct and work of the political parties, as well as all elected and appointed officials.
Ivanovska said that in the month of January they witnessed a much greater announcement of job vacancies since the date was set for the early parliamentary elections, which even though is not restricted with the Electoral Code, does, however, leave room for suspicion that influence is made on the electorate.
NOT LESS IMPORTANT…
The event of the Youth Union of Krusevo – “Bilateral Youth Cooperation Offices between North Macedonia and Greece” was an especially interesting public event. The event was addressed by President of the Republic of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrej Zernovski, US Ambassador Kate Byrnes, German Ambassador Thomas Gerberich, Greek Ambassador Dimitris Yannakakis and Greek MP Katerina Notopoulou.
The event included more than 200 active young people from the two neighbouring countries, North Macedonia and Greece, and the main goal is cultural exchange and promotion of the importance of cooperation between young people from the two countries, in the spirit of reconciliation and building good neighbourly relations as a precondition for the EU integration processes of our country.
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In Parliament, in the meanwhile, the third dialogue within the framework of the “Jean Monnet” process started this afternoon, with the participation of MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, European Permanent Rapporteur for our country, Andreas Shieder, President of the Delegation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU-North Macedonia. and Marion Walsmann, Vice-President of the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
“Our goal is to strengthen the role of Parliament, and we are convinced that this dialogue offers a real opportunity to put Parliament not only in the center of building a consensus in relation to the legislation for support to EU’s reform agenda, but also to lead the reform agenda, using its important democratic legitimacy, control and legislative authority, because our strategic commitments are known, namely NATO and EU membership, and functional institutions, a functional Parliament are needed for this”, said Xhaferi.
CIVIL ACTIVITIES
CIVIL is continuing with its activities on the ground intensively. Following the successful seminar in Gostivar, CIVIL is organizing a seminar for the South-Eastern region, which will be held on February 8 in Strumica, at Hotel Esperanto.
Application form for participation in regional seminar “Civic Lenses” in Strumica
Citizens from the municipalities of Strumica, Vasilevo, Bosilevo, Novo Selo, Konce, Valandovo, Dojran, Bogdanci and Gevgelia will have the right to participate in the seminar in Strumica.
FREE ZONE
Both Brussels and Washington, now before the elections, have expressed their views. This time about the Law on Prosecutor’s Office. And their insistence again is not in favour of constrained Mickoski. And he no longer has room for manoeuvres. He is pushed to the wall, concludes, from a corner, Zoran Ivanov.
He adds that: It’s not because of the throne, it’s because of the person
“Almost exclusively this “Roman Curia” is always in charge – urbi et orbi! – of interpreting the “Holy legal Bible” in Macedonia! They are both the Inquisition and Opus Dei and the Main Office of the Holy Congregation for Evangelical Propaganda, with an equal number of male and female “Popes” at the same time, irrelevant of the political “season” in power, so even though they are arguing with each other and divided as “Shiites” and “Sunnis”, they do not mind “jointly” ruling with the Macedonian law priests talking at undue length and, especially wives of priests, who do not fast every Friday (and Thursday and Tuesday and Saturday and Monday and Sunday and Wednesday)! – good morning with Saso Ordanoski and with the “Papa Curia” from the Faculty of Law in Skopje.
Nothing suggests that Mickoski, although formally leader of VMRO-DPMNE, has any control over the party. He remains to be what he was when we learned about his nomination for president – puppet of the justice fugitive, his mentor and ideologue. There is probably nothing more than that. Until yesterday formally honorary president of the party, Gruevski is still pulling all the strings, tightly attached to all of Mickoski’s joints, says Xhabir Deralla in today’s Burst “The Law on PPO, last test for Mickoski”.
Biljana Jordanovska
In cooperation with: Маја Ivanovska, Angela Petrovska, Diana Tahiri, Arben Zekiri, Zoran Ivanov, Saso Ordanoski, Xhabir Deralla
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
