by: XHABIR DERALLA

(continues from part one, published on October 23, 2020)

This is the second part of the interview questions with Mr. Hristijan Mickoski, President of VMRO-DPMNE. As it was previously published, in the second part, the reason for this public invitation is also explained. For more than a decade and a half, with small and rare exceptions, the party that is led by Mr. Mickoski hasn’t been responding to the numerous questions about their policies and practices. I think it’s time to publish some of the questions that have been asked in the past two years.The public has the tight to know the answers to these and many other questions. Once, in a video column, I said that unanswered questions are like unsolved murders. Those cases never become outdated.

So let’s continue with the questions to Mr. Mickoski:

Mr. Mickoski, what are your personal and political connections with Zlatko Kovac? Is the party you are managing using his services?

Are the allegations correct that in the party there are special teams for production of fake news, disinformation and hate speech? In that sense, is VMRO-DPMNE’s troll factory really located on the sixth floor of the headquarters, as it’s claimed in certain circles? Who manages them and what human and financial resources does the party have at its disposal to carry out such operations? If they really are being carried out, where do the finances for these operations come from and are they separate from the operations with which, supposedly, the media are financed from Moscow, through Budapest and other centers?

Does the party have a plan to combat fake news and disinformation? Is there a strategy for fighting hybrid attacks against democracy or are you and your party satisfied with the strategy of the government of Mr. Zoran Zaev?

Does VMRO-DPMNE have a plan to come out of the multi-million debt and what does that plan consist of? How does the party finance itself in conditions of a debt of eight million euros?

What is the value of Orce Kamcev’s direct and indirect agreements and his companies, as well as the companies under the influence of Kamcev, with companies and media close to VMRO-DPMNE, and what is the nature of the connection between you, Gruevski and other senior party officials in the period from January 2017 until today? With how much money was Orce Kamcev financing VMRO-DPMNE’s presidential campaign in 2019?

Is any VMRO-DPMNE official connected to the mega scandal with the financing of the Macedonian media outlets TV Alfa, Kurir, NetPres and Lider with black money in the amount of 2.5 million euros, from Budapest (Orban), through Ljubljana (Jansa)? If so, in what way? What do you think about this scandal?

How did it come to a “hole” of three million euros in the financial report of the 2011 elections and 400,000 euros in 2019? Who is responsible for these outrageous amounts of people’s money that are not justified? What is the answer of your party regarding these questions?

What are the relations of VMRO-DPMNE with the Russian Embassy? Is the party receiving direct and indirect technical and financial support from Russia, and for what? What does VMRO-DPMNE’s cooperation with Viktor Orban’s FIDESZ party consist of? What is the relation with SDS of Janez Jansa, who served prison for accepting bribery and received a suspended sentence for gross insult of journalists?

What is VMRO-DPMNE’s plan in relation to the Prespa Agreement, having in consideration the attitude of the party and ministers appointed by your party during the technical government from January to July 2020? Is the party, by denying the Prespa Agreement, actually revealing that there is a plan to leave NATO membership and the EU negotiations? Please, be honest and specific.

What did you talk about with Gruevski in Budapest in November, 2019? Did Aleksandar Trajkovski from VMRO-DPMNE in addition to the doctor’s referral for examination of the sinuses also have party instructions to meet with Gruevski in Budapest in December, 2018? Is VMRO-DPMNE receiving financial assistance from Gruevski?

How many officials of VMRO-DPMNE have Bulgarian or other passports? Is that all right?

Did you or some other party official hand something over to Slovenian politician Laris Gaiser during the meeting or meetings, and what?  Who from the party, and what kind of material, was sent to the Italian newspaper “La Verita”, and why wasn’t the same material first sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office? Does the party have arguments and evidence that can support its claims for the Public Prosecutor’s Office, especially for Ljubomir Joveski and Vilma Ruskoska? What documents of a secret investigation was Mickoski waving at the press conference in September 2019, and how did the communication continue with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in regards to this issue?

Tell us more about the idea for 120 constituencies. How did you come up with this number? Which experts from the party worked on this idea?

Why did your wife use an official party vehicle, chauffeur and party bodyguards to get to work last year? Was there then, and even now, some kind of danger, and shouldn’t the authorities, and not the party security, be dealing with that? Isn’t this abuse of party resources?

Please, inform us as soon as possible if and in what format you intend to give us a reply.

In the meanwhile, we will check our communication with you and will formulate the remaining, unanswered questions. Certainly, we expect from you to also give us an answer to the questions that will emerge in the meantime, and during the interview, and if you agree on a video format, we would like to have the opportunity to also ask you follow-up questions.

Thank you.

translation: N. Cvetkovska