Latest News & Developments

[DraganOfStip]

http://www.dw.com/mk/%D0%B5%D1%83-%D...%B0/a-19205910

Google Translate:

EU prepares sanctions against Macedonian politicians and revocation of the recommendation
Penalties for leading politicians and revocation of the recommendation to start accession negotiations with the EU. These are the next steps of the EU in the cancellation of negotiations in Vienna, Deutsche Welle has learned from its sources in Brussels.

Brussels is seriously considering imposing sanctions against leading Macedonian politicians confirmed to Deutsche Welle sources in the European Union. The plan is prepared and is likely procedure would require a series of measures against individuals but also to the state will soon enter the procedure by the European Commission.
EU politician who insisted on anonymity afternoon DW confirmed that after President Gjorge Ivanov declared amnesty and gave talks in Vienna, it is the next step.
"It is true. Considering serious sanctions. The first step will be the revocation of the recommendation to start negotiations, "said the source.
Such a possibility, between the lines, was announced in a joint statement by Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and the three MEPs who brokered the Macedonian political crisis, Richard Howitt, Ivo Vajgl and Eduard Kukan.
"In the absence of further progress, we are now forced to think about further steps to meet the requirements that were set by the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament", it reads it.
Last week, the "Wall Street Journal" quoted an unnamed EU diplomat who raised the possibility of sanctions.
According to the source of Deutsche Welle, along with the revocation of the recommendation, it will be announced in advance that they will not be recognized election results of June 5th.
Targeted sanctions against individuals
The last step will be "targeted sanctions" against certain politicians.
"Targeted sanctions against politicians would include freezing of bank accounts and a ban on travel to the EU," said the diplomat.
The procedure measures the country and sanctions against politicians will be conducted by the European Commission in consultation with the EU Member States.
In Brussels, rejecting fears that such measures will only further exacerbate the crisis and will radicalize the situation. The fact that ex Nikola Gruevski and his associates will be further pressed to the wall can not be worse, because it is already dramatic.
"No we are not worried about it. Far more are concerned that the deteriorating situation and that the country is moving towards greater instability. Would not thought about such measures if we find is neopdhoni. It is a dangerous situation, "said EU politician who insists on anonymity.
date 21/04/2016

[vicsinad]

Here is a passage about the Protestiram movement from an article dealing with the larger issue (the entire article is worth a read).

http://cadtm.org/Social-upheaval-in-times-of

Beyond circulating information about protest meeting points, and documenting the different protests and guerrilla actions #Protestiram has created a new platform freed from the bounds of the structures of establishment politics. This has facilitated the mobilization of citizens and groups who wish to demonstrate their discontent with the current Government, but do not want to identify with or be seen as affiliates of an establishment political party. This applies specifically to the leading opposition party- SDSM, which revealed the wiretap scandal, and presents itself as the leader of the fight against VMRO-DPMNE. SDSM is associated with the neoliberal reforms of the 1990s, which impoverished the population, started privatization of the institutions, the commons and the electorate, and in fact paved the way for the rise of the current coalition. As such it has the power to push away a large section of the population that opposes the current regime but does not see itself represented in SDSM, or any other establishment political party. This is far from saying that SDSM has no mobilizing capacity. Due to its presence on the political scene since the country’s independence, its party network branches across the country, and through closely affiliated liberal NGOs, it still has the power to mobilize notable sections of the population.

Considering this, the protest movement, will be successful to the extent that it remains inclusive of the opposition party SDSM and their NGO collaborators from “liberal civil society” but will not be overtaken by either its structures or its discourse. Channeling the protest movement into merely an instrument for legitimating the negotiating position of SDSM (as was the case last year), would be a missed opportunity both for the continued appeal to a section of the demos, but also for a broader and deeper social movement to be built out of the current protest movement.

For the protest movement to evolve into a new social movement, it will need to be able to articulate a vision of an alternative society, built on two levels: democratic inclusion, and a new discourse on social justice. Inclusion is necessary in order to allow each class and social group to give their own meaning to what is happening and why they are protesting. And it requires new platforms of inclusion and articulation in the form of plenums, open forums, and joint actions, which will aim to build up a new civil society– one which is not based on an authoritarian leaning of the demos on political elites but rather corresponding to the newly discovered energy on the streets.

Its scope must go beyond the liberal, anti-corruption, uncritical pro-EU narrative, in order to address all three underlying conditions of the current predicament: the privatization of institutions, commons and the electorate.

[DraganOfStip]

Originally Posted by vicsinad

http://cadtm.org/Social-upheaval-in-times-of

That was a hell of a read.A great ,unbiased analysis of the current situation really hitting the bullseye with every sentence.This is independent journalism at it's best.

[DraganOfStip]

And those "further actions" that the European representatives warned have started to come into effect.
The World Bank has stopped crediting Macedonian municipalities after member-states of this institution requested this from the board:

http://24vesti.mk/svetska-banka-nare...-vo-makedonija

[vicsinad]

President Ivanov is supposedly tied to the Panama Papers through his brother-in-law. True or not, it's a true fiasco. I question every SDSM accusation, but it is very suspicious that Ivanov found it a convenient time to delete the company from the registry due to inactivity only after the Panama Papers scandal erupted. Not why any time before when it was inactive?

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...dal-04-25-2016

On Sunday, SDSM spokesperson Petre Shilegov said Ivanov's close family was directly linked to businesses registered in Panama.

Shilegov presented documents from the Macedonian central registry that he said show that Saso Tonevski, the President's brother-in-law, had business relations with the firm LIP Corp Panama City and that LIP Corp was a founder of the Macedonian firm Delfino Travel Balkans.

"Just days ago, when the [so-called "Panama Papers"] scandal about money laundering in Panama began to spread, Delfino Travel ceased to exist and has been deleted from the [Macedonian] central registry. What is Ivanov's family hiding?" Shilegov asked.

Ivanov's cabinet did not deny the existence of the said firm or its links to the President's family, but said that Delfino Travel was inactive and had not been used for any dubious activities.

[vicsinad]

The Movement for Reform of the DPA: Macedonia should be a bi-national state by changing the Constitution

http://meta.mk/en/the-movement-for-r...-constitution/

Tetovo, 24 April, 2016 - 16:58 (META)

With the protest that took place in Skopje on April 22 it showed that apart from the Macedonians, there is also a problem within the Albanian community still in this country in their fight for equality. This afternoon members of the Movement for Reform in the DPA at a press conference announced this.

They say their demands are clear, and that is change, change to the regime that rules Macedonia and changing the country’s constitution.

“Through the protest we showed that the basic problem is systemic and that we need to change the Constitution of Macedonia. To make this system sustainable in the long-term, Macedonia should become a bi-national state and this can be done by changing the constitution”, said Arben Taravari from the Movement for Reform from the DPA.

In Skopje on Friday, the Union of Albanians made up of two parties, the Movement for Reform in the DPA and the National Democratic Revival held a protest and gave support to associations of former KLA fighters, political prisoners and expelled Albanians from Macedonia.

The protesters demanded the rule of law, the de-politicization of institutions and full equality between Macedonians and Albanians.

[vicsinad]

Levica: The arrest of Saveski is an attempt to frighten us all

http://meta.mk/en/levica-the-arrest-...ighten-us-all/

Skopje, 25 April, 2016 - 16:28 (META)

With the arrest of Zdravko Saveski, an executive member of the party ‘Levica” (also known as Left) has now left an opening for all party members to be persecuted, which incidentally came after the announcements of some pro-government movements to ban political parties and civil society groups, said the Levica party at the press conference in-front of the Criminal Court in Skopje.

The party says Saveski is still at ‘Prolet’ police station, where this morning he was summoned for questioning, and then detained. Unofficial sources have told us, he was detained because he had apparently participated in activities in a mob during the protests, which have gripped the country in the past couple of weeks.

According to their information, Saveski at any moment should be brought before a judge for a preliminary hearing, and rumour has it that the Public Prosecution will be requesting that Mr Saveski be remanded in custody.

“We strongly condemn this blatant political persecution on one of our members. Four more members of the Levica party have been summoned to the police station for questioning. Our advice to them, is not to respond to these calls, and not go to the police station because of the danger they may be arrested. We urge the Minister and Deputy Minister of Interior to register their cases, but not to file criminal charges”, said Dimitar Apasiev. Levica has sent two requests, one to the Public Prosecutor not to request detention, and the other to the judge of the preliminary hearing, not to rule for a measure of custody and leave the process to run without any kind of pressure.

The party and the civil initiative “I protest,” said that this is an attempt to frighten people who are openly protesting against President Ivanov’s decision to grant pardons.

They sent a message that will not succumb to such threats and pressures and urged citizens to take part in even more massive protests which already been occurring in the past two weeks in the capital, and in the other cities.

The MOI confirmed that Saveski had been summoned for questioning by the police station in connection with events which took place in-front of the President Ivanov’s Public Office which was on the first protest on April 12. Professor Saveski went to the police station on his own accord after receiving the summons, and besides him, today at 14:00 another member has been summoned. The Ministry of Interior said that after they finish interviewing Mr Saveski, they will them know whether criminal charges will be filed against him, due to the events which took place in-front of the President’s Public Offcie on April the 12th, when the whole office was completely vandalized.

The Public Prosecution Skopje told “Academik” that one individual had been summoned to the police station, in connection with the protests. There has been no information on whether and where that person will be tried by a public prosecutor.

[DraganOfStip]

Saveski is caught on tape burning pictures of Ivanov taken from his office that was demolished on the 1st or 2nd day of the protests.He is also shown throwing bricks/rocks at the office.A total of 4 members of Levica were summoned for questioning,2 of which (including Saveski) got home custody after the questioning.Oficially,they are charged with destruction of state property and participation in a mob.

http://www.akademik.mk/krivichen-sud...ki-i-kunovski/

[DraganOfStip]

In the latest Freedom House report for freedom of the press for 2016,Macedonia fell from a "partly free" country to a "not free" country:

https://freedomhouse.org/report/free...2016/macedonia

Status change explanation: Macedonia’s status declined from Partly Free to Not Free due to revelations indicating large-scale and illegal government wiretapping of journalists, corrupt ties between officials and media owners, and an increase in threats and attacks on media workers.
Macedonia’s media landscape is deeply polarized along political lines. Self-censorship among journalists is common, due primarily to pressure from media owners with particular business or political interests and, more recently, concerns about surveillance. Journalists are poorly paid and face threats and harassment for engaging in investigative or critical reporting.

Enforcement of media regulations is weak, and the licensing process is subject to undue political and economic influence. Under 2013 media laws, a government-dominated media regulator, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, is empowered to impose heavy fines and revoke broadcast licenses for content that threatens vaguely defined interests such as “public order” and “health or morals.”

The Macedonian media landscape is heavily polarized. Most private media outlets are tied to political or business interests that influence their content, and state-owned media tend to support government positions. The government continued to exercise undue political influence over the content of public outlets and control over their supervisory bodies during 2015. The public broadcaster, Macedonian Radio and Television (MRT), mostly ignored the wiretapping scandal, while the recordings themselves appeared to reveal direct government influence over the broadcaster’s reporting. The recordings also suggested a government role in the programming decisions of at least one private television outlet, and in determining the content of several newspapers.

Many private outlets are owned by businesspeople who use their media holdings as tools to promote commercial interests or curry favor with the government. Such outlets are often reluctant to pursue stories that would reflect poorly on Gruevski’s administration. For example, many outlets did not cover a series of teachers’ strikes during 2015, or omitted key details, such as the teachers’ grievances and demands, from their reporting. Moreover, as early elections in 2016 grew more likely, the most prominent private television outlets escalated progovernment reporting and criticism of the opposition.

Journalists have reported high rates of self-censorship, as they experience pressure not to publicize information that could harm their employers’ business interests. The problem was exacerbated in 2015 by the wiretapping scandal, which revealed how closely many media figures were being monitored.

Journalists faced increased levels of physical violence and harassment in 2015. Borjan Jovanovski, a prominent critical journalist for Nova TV, received a death threat in April. The sender used the name of a long-dead nationalist figure associated with the ruling party, suggesting a political motive. In May, Branko Tričkovski, a columnist for the opposition paper Sloboden Pečat, received death threats after he posted remarks on Facebook that were critical of police officers who participated in an operation against insurgents in an ethnic Albanian area of Kumanovo; eight officers were killed during the clash. Tričkovski’s vehicle was set on fire that month. Around the same time, the car of well-known political journalist Sašo Ordanoski was also set ablaze. Separately in May, Saše Ivanovski, the owner of the news website Maktel, was banned from a club for members of parliament after questioning Gruevski on the subject of his personal wealth. Days later, Ivanovski was beaten by two unidentified assailants in Skopje. Ivanovski was physically attacked again in July, this time by the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Vladimir Peševski, after he approached Peševski on the street and questioned him about the wiretapping program. And in June, a Macedonian police officer attacked an Austrian journalist and attempted to confiscate her equipment as she sought to report on the movement of refugees at the border with Greece.

Macedonia has a large number of broadcast and print outlets for its population, but progovernment media—including the public MRT and several private television stations and newspapers—hold a dominant position in the market. A small number of outlets, such as Telma TV, 24 Vesti, Sloboden Pečat, and Fokus, carry more balanced or critical coverage. Broadcast outlets run by members of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority, some of which provide content in both Albanian and Macedonian, often produce news that is more objective than their Macedonian-language counterparts; observers have suggested that this is because they are somewhat removed from the political wrangling between the two main parties, which are composed primarily of ethnic Macedonians.

The government has faced criticism for its liberal use of promotional advertising, which increases the media’s financial dependence and favors progovernment outlets. The government is one of the country’s largest advertisers, and the ruling party benefits from deep pricing discounts from friendly outlets, particularly during election campaigns. In the summer of 2015, the government issued a moratorium on official advertising amid the growing political crisis; however, the measure did not extend to all public institutions or to allied private institutions, allowing the government to retain an indirect influence over the media through advertising contracts. The state also subsidizes content production for national television broadcasters under amendments to the media law adopted in 2014, creating another mechanism for the dispersal of official funds to friendly media. Many media outlets rely on financial support from private owners’ other businesses.

Journalists face low salaries, a lack of job security, and poor working conditions, leaving them more vulnerable to editorial pressure from owners.

[DraganOfStip]

Huffington Post,
Macedonia:sliding towards autocracy?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sasha-...b_9818526.html

On April 12, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov announced the pardon of 56 individuals charged (or yet to be charged) in the most serious cases of wiretapping, electoral fraud, murder cover-up, and corruption. The presidential pardon included Gruevski (pardoned on 5 counts), Gordana Jankulovska, former Minister of Interior (pardoned on 13 counts), and Mile Janakieski, former Minister of Transport and Communication (pardoned on 16 counts). It seems President Ivanov was under serious duress by Gruevski’s team to sign the pardons, sparking unprecedented protests throughout the country.

President Ivanov’s “International Conspiracy” Theory, Supported by Russia

At the press conference held on April 15th, President Ivanov claimed that the developments in Macedonia are “not of our making.” He added:
“This is someone else’s ballgame. It is illegal to put under surveillance the entire leadership of the country, journalists, media, diplomats and then hand over this fabricated material in the hands of one man, give him strong support to use it. Subsequent events unambiguously showed that someone else is seriously involved in creating this crisis. Macedonia is neither the first nor the last country in the world to experience such a scenario. This crisis is in someone else’s interest. Other goals and interests are at stake. There is someone trying to attain something out of it by abusing the embattled politicians, political leaders and their supporters.”

Politicians in the Balkan countries, in general, are known for manipulating masses with various “conspiracy theories,” usually claiming all problems are “imported” from the outside. But such political maneuvering works rather well in this region, where ethno-politics and ethno-nationalism are still predominant forces in the political landscape.
Playing the “international conspiracy” card, along with still very dominant ethno-politics in Macedonia’s multiethnic and multicultural society, is the best way to turn away attention from this huge scandal that would likely topple several prominent political figures. The Russian foreign ministry came to the aid to President Ivanov, issuing a statement on April 14th and warning “against attempts to destabilize the situation in Macedonia.” Russia is warning of an “employment of the Ukrainian scenario that may destabilize the situation in the entire Balkan Peninsula.” Minister Sergei Lavrov also reinforced his ministry’s statement by saying that unrests in Macedonia are “orchestrated from the outside.” Lavrov argues that the former Prime Minister Gruevski has been pressed on his refusal to join the anti-Russian sanctions and for his support for South Stream, the now-abandoned pipeline project to transport natural gas from the Russian Federation through the Black Sea to Bulgaria, and through Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia to Austria.

Both the U.S. State Department and the EU issued strong statements against the president’s pardon decision, making it very clear that the upcoming elections in Macedonia scheduled for June 5th will not be recognized. President Ivanov should revoke his pardon and let the justice system in Macedonia do its job. This would send a very clear signal that Macedonia intends to implement Chapters 23 and 24 of the EU accession process, namely to adhere to an independent and impartial judiciary, to fair trial procedures, and to making sure the government and its officials are accountable under the law. Failure to do so would be truly a pity for a country that has done much to reform itself from the socialist system of the former Yugoslavia.

The time of political corruption cover-ups, conspiracy theories that manipulate the masses, and nepotism is coming to an end in the Balkans. Forces ready to fight this old cancer and bring nations to adhere to the rule of law as a precondition to prosperity are emerging strong. Macedonia’s recent turmoil is not one of “making from the outside,” but rather of a corrupted network of high-ranking politicians fearing justice may catch up. With this latest development, it seems, rightly so.