NEWS OF THE DAY: Gruevski had been buying building lots with money from donations for VMRO-DPMNE
Former Prime Minister, fugitive Nikola Gruevski, has illegally obtained at least 1.3 million euros from donations for VMRO-DPMNE while being president of the party, and then with that money bought 11.000 m2 building lots on Vodno, says the Prosecutor’s Office for organized crime in regards to the investigation on the money laundering in which his best man Risto Novacevski this morning was arrested.
The Head of the Prosecutor’s Office for organized crime, Vilma Ruskovska, said that it hasn’t been requested for Gruevski’s accounts to be frozen, since he had emptied them before fleeing to Hungary. She said that she would again initiate extradition of Gruevski, after the Hungarian authorities did not deliver him for the organization of April 27, 2017.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY
We, as a state, were subject to serious hybrid attacks for the first time during the 2018 Referendum. However, back then we were still not in the NATO Alliance, at the time we used to receive some support at the bilateral level, but not as the one we receive now. The last one, was a synchronized attack with a huge intensity not seen until now in our country, which took down the website of the State Election Commission on election day, and this cannot be done by one person, so saying that 2-3 young hackers did such damage, is not true and are stories for small children”, said President Stevo Pendarovski replying to CIVIL’s question – “What is the state of the Macedonian national security and stability, having in consideration the increased fake news, hate speech, primarily of the ethnicity, and hybrid attacks?”.
He outlined that hybrid attacks are a new problem, but that luckily for us we are a NATO member since March 27 this year and that we have started receiving plentiful assistance and support from other NATO allies.
CIVIL ACTIVITIES CIVIL has started the project “United in Diversity” in cooperation with The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The project goal is to alleviate the devastating consequences of ethnic tensions through an awareness-raising campaign with the aim of understanding and deconstructing nationalist narratives, and of proposing ways to overcome divisions, tensions and violence on ethnic basis.
By this project, CIVIL intends to send a strong message against nationalism and to call upon the citizens to continue supporting North Macedonia’s EU future. The Macedonian society is multicultural, multiconfessional and multiethnic. This fact of reality is a beauty and a grand potential. The Mayor of the Municipality of Bogovinje, Albon Xhemaili, in an interview for CIVIL Media says “Financial resources are also needed for respecting and implementing European values”.
European values cost, which means that in order for them to be respected, municipalities should have sufficient financial resources. Still, I believe that European values in the
Municipality of Bogovinje are maximally respected, having in consideration that it is a rural municipality in North Macedonia. The Mayor of the Municipality of Vevcani, Saso Jankoski, responded to a call of Green CIVIL for opening the topic of green values, social justice and antinationalism.
Who loses? Well, honestly, we are all losing, the country loses, the municipalities lose, the people lose. This goes only in favour of a certain group of politicians who are used to ruling by provoking and controlled inciting of nationalism as needed, solely for their personal short-term policies. However, nationalism is a dangerous tool that can easily get out of control and there is no turning back afterwards. The Mayor of the Municipality of Delcevo, Goran Trajkovski in an interview for CIVIL Media says: “The legal order created by the EU is already an established component of our political life and of society. Every year, based on the agreements of the Union, thousands of decision are made with key impact on the EU member states and the lives of their citizens. In one analysis it has been noted that people have long not been only citizens of their country, city or region, but are also citizens of the Union, thus also the values that are a set of rules impact the everyday life of the people, but also the development of a society as a democratic one”.
FLASH NEWS
Minister of Health Venko Filipce condemned the Mayor of Centar, Sasa Bogdanovic, who this weekend held a wedding ceremony in Kosovo.
Upon an order of the Prosecutor’s Office for organized crime and corruption, this morning the police detained Risto Novacevski, best man of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who is suspected of money laundering for buying building lots on Vodno.
Truthmeter: With a photo from a firefighting plane from 2009, panic is being spread about an alleged poisoning with a deadly poison.
In 2020, only 38 percent of the municipalities reported to citizens about the activities undertaken and implemented in 2019, shows the new research of the Center for Economic Analyses (CEA) titled “Fiscal transparency of the municipalities in North Macedonia”.
Civil associations Green Alternative, ZNAM, HOPS, Coalition Margins and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, today at a press conference demanded urgent decriminalization of possession and personal use of cannabis, but also of its cultivation for personal use.
The Network for protection against discrimination demands for Parliament to elect a professional and independent Ombudsman.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev does not accept a meeting with the leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, next month he leaves for Sofia to meet with Bojko Borisov.
D. Muratov
translation: N. Cvetkovska
